Quebec resident charged for not giving up phone password at airport

[constanrine5d]

A man was charged by Canada Border Services Agency for not giving up his cellphone password at a security check at the airport.

 

He's been charged under section 153.1 (b ) of the Customs Act for hindering or preventing border officers from performing their role under the act.

 

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/quebec-resident-alain-philippon-to-fight-charge-for-not-giving-up-phone-password-at-airport-1.2982236

This raises the question: Do you need to give your smartphone‬ password to customs officials at the border?

[Jade]

Do you? Don't know.

Should you? No, unless under very certain circumstances.

[minibois]

no.. yeah.. maybe..

I couldn't care less.. But I don't do fly though

[Mr.Jackson]

I'm not sure how it works outside the US. but if you want my password (for anything) there should be a valid reason. (like, I'm a suspect)

 

but my cellphone? get a court order, or a lawyer, because I'm not comfortable with that.

[Guest]

What happens when, just before crossing the border, you forget the password?

It gets confiscated until they defeat the password protection?

More importantly, if you can't physically carry into Canada information the authorities can't look through, does that mean they'll outlaw encrypted connections to PCs in Canada?

[constanrine5d]

Personally I wouldn't give my cellphone password to anyone. It's my right to have it locked and private. Unless its a police investigation or anything and they have a valid reason for taking it and unlocking my phone.

[Victorious Secret]

Border services doesn't act like this unless you give them a reason to. Theres more to this story than just "DAE GUBERMENT IS INTRUSIVE INTO MY LIFE AND IS TAKING MY LIBERTIES" 

[Guest]

Border services doesn't act like this unless you give them a reason to. Theres more to this story than just "DAE GUBERMENT IS INTRUSIVE INTO MY LIFE AND IS TAKING MY LIBERTIES" 

If there was more to this story, they would have had a warrant to serve him.

[Victorious Secret]

If there was more to this story, they would have had a warrant to serve him.

 

Sigh.

 

It was a customs search. They don't need a warrant for that. The CBSA has a wide range of discretionary powers for policing our borders...

 

Also, our Supreme Court allows warrantless searches on cellphones: http://www.canadianlawyermag.com/legalfeeds/2426/supreme-court-allows-warrantless-cell-phone-searches.html

Want to try again? From the article itself:

 

Rob Currie, director of the Law and Technology Institute at the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University, said that under Canadian law, travellers crossing the Canadian border have a reduced expectation of privacy.

He said border officials have wide-ranging powers to search travellers and their belongings.

"Under the Customs Act, customs officers are allowed to inspect things that you have, that you're bringing into the country," he told CBC News. "The term used in the act is 'goods,' but that certainly extends to your cellphone, to your tablet, to your computer, pretty much anything you have."

 

 

[RagnarokDel]

Refuse, get charged, beat the charges because your privacy is a right and then sue the agent for his pension.

[Nineshadow]

If he gets it to court he can just say he forgot it...

[Mr.Jackson]

"forgot my password" is actually kind of clever.

"reset it"

"oops, forgot my email password"

*continue until they take it away*

 

if they brute force/hack it after you've said "no" does that fall under some other law, or the same?

[Guest]

Sigh.

 

It was a customs search. They don't need a warrant for that. The CBSA has a wide range of discretionary powers for policing our borders...

 

My point was, he wasn't under an investigation. There wasn't 'more to the story'.

The government wants to collect every bit of information they can lay their hands on and they shouldn't be doing that. They should need a warrant. The fact that they don't currently need it is not an excuse, it's a problem.

[Victorious Secret]

My point was, he wasn't under an investigation. There wasn't 'more to the story'.

The government wants to collect every bit of information they can lay their hands on and they shouldn't be doing that. They should need a warrant. The fact that they don't currently need it is not an excuse, it's a problem.

 

When you're hauled to the side by the CBSA and then refuse to cooperate, there is always more to the story than "government power abuse".

 

But they don't need a warrant? I linked you a Supreme Court ruling that explains why, did you even bother to read it the whole way through? Its not some abuse of power ruling, its very clearly stated what is allowed to be searched and why, and what isn't allowed to be searched. 

Collecting data? Huh? They ask you to unlock your phone because they think you're not being above board. Its customs. They have every right to be suspicious and even kick you out of the country they are tasked with protecting.

[PowerPigeon]

The CBSA, as @Victorious Secret stated, has the right to search devices regardless of the right to protection against unreasonable search and seizure in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I recently did an essay for school on a Supreme Court decision regarding searching a cell phone without a warrant, the precedent has been set that it is legal in Canada and having a password on your phone does not change that.

[Mr.Jackson]

Collecting data? Huh? They ask you to unlock your phone because they think you're not being above board. Its customs. They have every right to be suspicious and even kick you out of the country they are tasked with protecting.

[Norman_the_Owl]

If i recall correctly, you need a warrant to look through somebodies phone in the united states. And you can't force someone to give you a password, as it's personal knowledge.

[mr moose]

My point was, he wasn't under an investigation. There wasn't 'more to the story'.

 

 

How do you know?  On the balance of probability customs have got much better things to do with their time than randomly search people on the off chance they have something incriminating on their phone.

[constanrine5d]

If i recall correctly, you need a warrant to look through somebodies phone in the united states. And you can't force someone to give you a password, as it's personal knowledge.

 

Yeah nut he was in Canada, I don't know what the law says about his case.

[Norman_the_Owl]

Yeah nut he was in Canada, I don't know what the law says about his case.

I was just pointing out how maybe the Canadians should take a look at how their southern neighbor is handling things for once...

[Guest]

But they don't need a warrant? I linked you a Supreme Court ruling that explains why, did you even bother to read it the whole way through? Its not some abuse of power ruling, its very clearly stated what is allowed to be searched and why, and what isn't allowed to be searched.

 

The ruling the article is about concerns searching the phone of someone being arrested. In that case, a warrant has been issued for the person in question and it's reasonable to apply it to his possessions.

[dfsdfgfkjsefoiqzemnd]

If i recall correctly, you need a warrant to look through somebodies phone in the united states. And you can't force someone to give you a password, as it's personal knowledge.

Not at the border. They can take your phone and keep it for "a reasonable amount of time" so they can search it either on-site or off-site. that can be longer than a month if needed (for example if you "forgot" your password and they have to brute-force it).

No suspicion of wrongdoing is required and apparently there are no rules regarding data retention, even if it's privileged and/or sensitive data.

https://www.eff.org/document/defending-privacy-us-border-guide-travelers-carrying-digital-devices

See the lower half of page 4 and further.

[mr moose]

The ruling the article is about concerns searching the phone of someone being arrested. In that case, a warrant has been issued for the person in question and it's reasonable to apply it to his possessions.

 

this line:

 

 

"Under the Customs Act, customs officers are allowed to inspect things that you have, that you're bringing into the country," he told CBC News. "The term used in the act is 'goods,' but that certainly extends to your cellphone, to your tablet, to your computer, pretty much anything you have."

 

 

That is what makes the article relevant to this thread. 

[Guest]

"Under the Customs Act, customs officers are allowed to inspect things that you have, that you're bringing into the country,"

 

Again, I'm not saying that the officers did something illegal. I'm saying that what they did should be illegal.

It's reasonable for them to physically inspect the phone to see it's not a slab of narcotics or explosives wrapped in plastic, but accessing the information on it gives them much more information about a person than going through his suitcase.

Contacts, call logs, browsing history, pictures and their  EXIF data and everything else paints a very detailed picture of an individual. And the inspection doesn't consist of a customs official taking a look at what he can find through the phone's file manager. They make an image of the entire device and retain it for as long as they want and - seeing as this is Canada- probably share it with other Five Eyes countries.

 

[mr moose]

Again, I'm not saying that the officers did something illegal. I'm saying that what they did should be illegal.

It's reasonable for them to physically inspect the phone to see it's not a slab of narcotics or explosives wrapped in plastic, but accessing the information on it gives them much more information about a person than going through his suitcase.

Contacts, call logs, browsing history, pictures and their  EXIF data and everything else paints a very detailed picture of an individual. And the inspection doesn't consist of a customs official taking a look at what he can find through the phone's file manager. They make an image of the entire device and retain it for as long as they want and - seeing as this is Canada- probably share it with other Five Eyes countries.

 

Unless they were tipped of, or he's been associating with know suspects.  Then the search is very relevant.   These cases are rarely an innocent man being mistreated or violated.  Hell I went on a domestic flight 2 months ago and was swabbed for explosive and had to open my bag  for security, why? because they do both random searches and because I probably look guilty.