Quote:
Originally Posted by Sil_liS
The guide seems to say that people can choose not to divulge the passwords. The article in the OP is saying that people can be ordered to give their passwords.
Look at the problem from this perspective: what exactly is stopping bad guys from following the same procedure?
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You do understand that in the Western countries most of us live in, there's such a thing as procedural due process, right? Following that process instead of rushing to judgment and punishment (by cops, with no court involvement) does sometimes result in letting the guilty go free. We've collectively decided that's a better result than giving the police too much power over us.
Yes, in the USA, the Border Patrol can "order you" to divulge your password. No, they cannot physically force you to do this and if they arrested you for non-compliance, you would have recourse to the courts. I believe the 5th amendment would protect US citizens in this case. There are also precedents in some federal districts that say they can take your property but that CBP cannot prevent a US citizen from re-entering her or his own country.
It's true that if the "bad guys" (e.g. those with kiddie porn on their computers) follow the recommendations of the EFF guide I posted (e.g. by using remote servers to back up their data and bringing only "clean" HDDs across the border), they, too can avoid detection. I don't support kiddie porn but that doesn't mean I'd be OK with you changing the law and Constitution to make it legal for CBP to use thumbscrews in order to force me to access my Dropbox for their perusal.
