Lawmakers want border agents to get a warrant before searching your smartphone

Federal agents increasingly appear to be searching some Americans' smartphones as they cross the border — and a quartet of powerful congressional lawmakers want to impose new checks on that practice.

Currently, the government doesn't have to obtain a warrant before it asks even American travelers to provide a look at their personal devices, including their laptops, at airport terminals or border crossings. A new bill released Tuesday by Sen. Ron Wyden and his allies, however, would require a warrant or suspicion of a crime — an effort, they say, that’s meant to safeguard Americans’ privacy while focusing the government on targets that pose actual threats.

“By requiring a warrant to search Americans’ devices and prohibiting unreasonable delay, this bill makes sure that border agents are focused on criminals and terrorists instead of wasting their time thumbing through innocent Americans’ personal photos and other data,” Wyden said in a statement. Fellow sponsors include GOP Sen. Rand Paul, as well as Reps. Jared Polis and Blake Farenthold.

In recent weeks, Wyden has raised his concerns about border searches with the Department of Homeland Security. He cited a report (from our friends at The Verge) about a NASA employee who was pressed to provide border agents in Houston with access to his smartphone. Two months later, Wyden still hasn’t received a response from DHS, a spokesman for the senator confirmed Tuesday.

In the meantime, DHS reportedly is weighing other new border surveillance efforts — including whether to ask foreign travelers to provide access to their devices or social-media passwords before arriving in the United States.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?

Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple reasons that we can't rely only on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on.

First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.

Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. We can’t do that if we have a paywall.

That’s why we also turn to you, our readers, to help us keep Vox free. If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today?

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via