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Received β€” 30 September 2026 ⏭ Ars Technica - All content

Returning from vacation? The government can search your phone without a warrant.

30 September 2026 at 21:19

An Argentinian-American writer and immigration advocate recently sued the federal government, demanding that it delete data that he believes was copied off of his phone when he re-entered the United States earlier this month.

According to the seven-page complaint, Thomas Kennedy said that a Customs and Border Protection agent at Miami International Airport physically searched his bags, questioned him about his books and magazines, and then demanded that he hand over his phone.

β€œ[The agent] threatened me, saying that if I didn’t give him my phone, my interrogation was going to take much longer and they could retain my phone indefinitely,” Kennedy wrote. β€œI felt like I had no choice, so I handed my phone to the CBP agent.”

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