France’s research minister said a French scientist was denied entry to the US this month after immigration officers at an airport searched his phone and found messages in which he had expressed criticism of the Trump administration.
How’d they get into his phone? Face or fingerprint?
Make sure you turn off biometrics before traveling. They can’t force you to disclose a passcode.
EDIT: Actually, if you have to travel to the USA, wipe your phone before you leave.
So, what if I as an american, travel to canada. On my re-entry, am i going to get my phone searched for anti-maga stuff?
They could try. They can compel you to open it with Face ID or fingerprint. If that’s turned off they cannot compel you to disclose your passcode. They can seize your phone. They cannot prevent you from entering the country.
They’re probably only going to do it with some kind of suspicion. But that suspicion could be the border protection officer is having a bad day.
The Nazis literally did this with a law. They made it illegal to be critical of the party. Fuck the alarm, we’ve already been had.
Travel advise: prepare for a trip to the US like you’d prepare for a trip to Russia or China. (Note: being an anarchist who thinks Putin, Xi and Trump don’t deserve a separate rope for each, I wouldn’t consider a visit.)
Don’t bring your real computing device. Bring an empty device from which you can VPN to a system that actually has your data.
If you need to bring an encrypted device, consider the possibility that authorities will attempt to coerce you into unlocking it (and will cause you great disruption and indignity if you won’t). You might be safer bringing a concealed + encrypted microSD card and a device loaded with an OS intended to be searched. If the data matters, make sure you cannot unlock your device under coercion.
(Trivial method: send your friend in the US a snailmail letter. Ask them to keep the letter until your arrival. Into the letter, steganographically embed the OTP key material to obtain the passphrase to decrypt your device. Now to decrypt the device, three things will be needed: your cooperation and knowledge, the device, and the letter. And you can deny that the letter contains anything.)
Edit: upgraded advise - mail your local contact an encrypted MicroSD card. Cross the border with a Raspberry Pi in factory packaging, or buy it locally (they’re still permitted, despite their widespread use by anarchists).
That’s not only US either, Canada, Australia, Great Britain, China - all can coerce you into unlocking your devices and detain you if you refuse which is fucking crazy.
Never ever give them this right even if you trust the government as they’ll make a redundant copy and government data security is such a joke you’ll be 100% pwnd.
Make sure your laptop is encrypted and disable face unlock on your phone. They can detain you for 24h in most places (6h in US) and will tell you to buy a return ticket. Do not take the risk even if you have nothing to hide.
As a security expert - these laws are 100% authoritarian abuse. As if terrorists can’t host their encrypted terrorist files offsite and pull them from public wifi when they enter the country. It’s an absolutely joke.
