U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., introduced the Protecting Data at the Border Act, which would require federal agents to obtain a warrant before searching the personal devices of U.S. residents crossing the border, Nextgov reports. Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., introduced a companion bill in the House of Representatives. Currently, Customs and Border Protection can search devices without a warrant or probable cause. If the legislation is enacted, agents would have to obtain “a valid warrant supported by probable cause” to access personal devices. They would no longer be able to deny entry if an individual refused to provide passwords or social media account information and immediately destroy any data collected and notify the individual when it’s deleted.
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