Outstanding overview, xtraelv!
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black...
The actual amendment that pertains here is the 4th...
Both amendments apply. But the 5th is most relevant.
It's a good thing I inserted the classic IANAL disclaimer!
Retention of the data also makes it not just a search but a seizure. It the data kept ? Who owns the data ?
I'm sure intellectual property rights and "copying and keeping a copy of property"were not considered when the constitution was written.
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Having to disclose a password or encryption key would fall under this category. (Self incrimination)
The current argument is that they are not "in the United States" but in "Customs pre-clearance".
Interesting. I wonder if there is an old case - prior to the telecommunications era, that is - in which a US customs agent was challenged for copying the written contents of letters/manuscripts of a citizen returning to the country, as that would provide fairly direct precedent. Nevertheless, it is clear that if you leave the US many of your basic rights will be suspended or, at least, weakened, upon your return.
I wouldn't recommend cloud storage for critical private information. Anything on the internet is vulnerable and it is potentially there forever. You potentially have multiple foreign nations trying to get access to it.
Yep, I totally agree with this. I don't keep anything critical on cloud services like OneDrive, DropBox, etc. and just assume that malicious (or otherwise) state actors can access cloud services at any time they please.
Veracrypt for the win!