The Register: US border cops harvest info from citizens’ phones, build massive database

“Today’s cell phones and other electronic devices are filled with countless amounts of personal data — often more than what is contained in our homes,” EPIC senior counsel Jeramie Scott told The Register. “This makes CBP’s retention of data from tens of thousands of electronic devices through warrantless border searches an extremely invasive surveillance program that should be stopped immediately.”

Plus, he added, the associated security and privacy risks are amplified because the agency retains all of this data in a searchable database for 15 years.

“It is well past time that a warrant requirement apply to searches of electronic devices at the border,” Scott said.

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