Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/04/03/former-mozilla-cto-was-detaine.html
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I guess there are now different classes of citizenship.
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FYI, I am not a lawyer but if an officer quotes 18 USC § 111 as a reason for snooping on your devices implying that your refusal to comply is “resisting or impeding” his investigation, Long vs. United States found that the threat or use of force is the determining factor.
The whole statute reads: “forcibly assaults, resists, opposes, impedes, intimidates or interferes with any person designated in 18 U.S.C. § 1114 or who formerly served as a person designated in § 1114, while engaged in or on account of the performance of his/her official duties.” [emphasis added]
No doubt this will make little difference in the interrogation room but arming oneself with a little knowledge ahead of time may give some comfort to those being intimidated to give up their passwords.
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Anything less than complete, immediate, subservient compliance is “forcible” resistance to authoritarians.
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Ugh, no love for sovereign citizens, but you can see where they might get the idea that magic words on a piece of paper would carry legal weight. Double ugh thinking about how many of these authoritarian foot soldiers are themselves sympathetic to libertarian, might-makes-right arguments, and see their authoritarian activities as justified to stave off some left-wing boogeyman (if they see the contradiction at all…)
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They may have gotten their wires crossed. It may be legal for them to say if you don’t unlock devices you can’t have global entry. (They mentioned at the end they confiscated his global entry card.)
It’s my understanding you can’t be forced to unlock anything… at least not without some kind of judicial order.
contact borders@eff.org ASAP if you have an issue like this.
I also advise having a wallet card with important #s:
EFF’s office phone is here, but I’d just give bare basics until you were face to face.
Edit: Also, having met many fine folks working at Mozilla (but not this person specifically) they seem like the worst possible candidates to fuck with at the border - basically walking test cases. They took me to EFF pub trivia. They know their rights very thoroughly.
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So, be a lawyer? A lawyer specialized in police action?
My point is, there’s all sorts of crap misinterpreted laws they could throw at an unsuspecting traveller. How does on prepare for the unknown?
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Border agents have always acted with impunity.
I remember a story from many years ago about a woman who put all her money into importing shrimp from Mexico. At the border the agents did not believe a girl so young would have the money to really be importing seafood. They destroyed all of her product searching for non existent drugs and she was left with no recourse.
A trucker in the Canadian border was hauling tractor tires. The border agents in their search removed all the tires from his truck with a fork lift and left them on the ground and would not help him reload his vehicle or even let him use the lift.
This is of course at this point hear say but it pissed me off then and does so today. These people have a tough job to be sure but they also must be held accountable for these types of abuse of power. It is simply not acceptable
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Personally, I did a lot of international vacations pre-Trump and decided to not deal with the hastle. I’ve been sticking to within the USA.
There’s a some good deals since people aren’t vacationing as much in the US.
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Just another day in Nazi America, smile citizens you’re on camera.
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Allen Funt tried to warn us…
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I assumed he must be a POC, but surprise, surprise:
It’s his past work with encryption and his public anti-45 stance that prompted his harassment.
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Having crossed the US/Canadian border many times in the past few months, it’s easy for me to imagine how a fascist police force could be unleashed on the American people. And that’s based on CBP at the Canadian border.
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I only travel to the US for business conferences and to visit relatives every few years. I’ll give the American economy as little of my money as possible until dRumpf and his fascist hangers on/party treat my country like an ally again instead of an enemy.
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There always were.
They’re just altering the groupings, is all.
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A cunning plan to get him to unlock a device!
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gonna need you to be more specific 
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