New Federal Ruling Prohibits Warrantless Phone Searches by Border Agents

A federal court in New York has ruled that US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents must have probable cause and may need to obtain a warrant before searching the contents of a cell phone, even at border areas in their jurisdiction. This closes a loophole that previously considered phone searches part of "routine" searches for contraband, which have a categorical exception that does not require a warrant. The new ruling affirms a higher standard of privacy for phone contents, noting that "reviewing the information in a person's cell phone is the best approximation government officials have for mindreading." Therefore such searches are considered "a nonroutine search to which a categorical border search exception does not apply." The case was decided in the US District Court of the Eastern District of New York. It involved a US citizen — suspected of purchasing or possessing child sexual abuse material — detained at JFK airport upon re-entering the US.