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"REASONABLE SUSPICION" FOR LAPTOP CONFISCATIONS IN US

THE ASSOCIATION OF CORPORATE TRAVEL Executives (ACTE) is celebrating a significant - if partial - victory in its battle against indiscriminate confiscation of laptop computers by US customs officials.

The new Travellers' Privacy Protection Act, enacted last month, dictates that US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials must demonstrate "reasonable suspicion" - and obtain a warrant - before seizing laptops and other electronic devices and copying their contents.

At the moment, the Act only protects the privacy of US citizens and those who have legal right of residence in the US. However, having had their wrists so comprehensively slapped, it seems unlikely that CBP officials will make any distinction without good cause. Ultimately, ACTE hopes the protection will be extended under law to visitors as well as US nationals.

The ACTE campaign began in 2006, after complaints that over-zealous CBP staff were seizing laptops without warning or apparent reason, and copying the data stored on the devices - without data protection guarantees. In many cases, the laptops have not been returned, even though the contents have proved harmless.

ACTE executive director Susan Gurley explains: "This bill introduces a much higher, and necessary, level of accountability to the laptop examination process. It requires the authorities to seek a warrant, which makes it subject to judicial process and will put an end to the indiscriminate ransacking of data. It allows the traveller to witness the process, and it limits the time officials can hold a traveller's hardware. It even provides compensation for damage to a traveller's computer."

The warrant also sets a deadline for the return of laptops and requires government agencies to destroy "beyond recall" any data which turns out to be innocent.