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Border agents are randomly seizing phones of US citizens who support Palestine (therealnews.com)
submitted 21 hours ago by to c/privacy@programming.dev
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[–] 17 points 20 hours ago (10 children)

https://grapheneos.org/ is waiting for its time to shine

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  • [–] 15 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago) (3 children)

    You get arrested for wiping your phone at the border as we learned last month.

    For now people that need to cross the border should probably carry a travel phone and mail their real one.

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  • [–] 3 points 11 hours ago (1 child)

    I wonder if I'd get arrested if they run out of tries then it wipes itself, as opposed to providing a duress pin.

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  • [–] 5 points 11 hours ago

    I don't know..

    Over the years the courts have decided that LEOs can't force you to give your pin/password. The issue that wasn't really addressed is why US citizens lack certain rights in the grey zone between US and international territory.

    This all seems illegal but I'm not a laywer

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  • [–] 9 points 19 hours ago (3 children)

    Some guy is currently facing federal charges for exactly that:

    Samuel Tunick is facing a federal felony after data on his Google Pixel was erased while Customs and Border Protection officers were trying to search the device at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. His attorneys are challenging the legality of the search, putting the government’s border search powers at the center of the criminal case.

    The encounter occurred on January 24, 2025, after Tunick returned to the United States from the Dominican Republic and was sent to secondary inspection. Federal officers sought access to his phone, and court records state that Tunick eventually provided a passcode. When an officer entered it, the screen went blank, flashed several times and appeared to restart. Prosecutors allege the phone’s contents had been deleted.

    A federal grand jury indicted Tunick in November 2025 under 18 U.S.C. § 2232(a). The law makes it a crime to knowingly destroy, damage or take other action against property for the purpose of preventing or interfering with the government’s lawful authority to take it into custody. A conviction can carry up to five years in prison.

    https://www.lawcommentary.com/articles/samuel-tunick-faces-federal-felony-after-phone-was-wiped-during-atlanta-airport-search

    https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71998357/united-states-v-tunick/

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  • [–] 8 points 15 hours ago (1 child)

    A federal grand jury indicted Tunick in November 2025 under 18 U.S.C. § 2232(a). The law makes it a crime to knowingly destroy, damage or take other action against property for the purpose of preventing or interfering with the government’s lawful authority to take it into custody. A conviction can carry up to five years in prison.

    This just smells like a techbro version of "arrested for resisting arrest".

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