What could happen if you refuse to unlock your phone at the US border?

Re:What could happen if you refuse to unlock your phone at t... by nkurz on Thursday February 16, 2017 @10:20AM (#13660518)

From the article:

The policy also states that CBP or Immigration and Customs Enforcement "may demand technical assistance, including translation or decryption," citing a federal law, 19 US Code Section 507. A related document says that "officers may seek such assistance with or without individualized suspicion." Refusing to comply with this statute is "guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine of not more than $1,000."

Are you confident that it's legal for a US citizen to refuse to provide a password when re-entering the country? I'm not familiar with the statute beyond what is mentioned in the article.

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Re:What could happen if you refuse to unlock your phone at t... by ComputerGuru on Thursday February 16, 2017 @10:37AM (#13660681)

There are increasingly two types of law in the USA: felony punishable by no less than x, and misdemeanor punishable by no more than y.

I've taken to sighing and accepting y and just being grateful it's not a felony if I do it. Felonies are bad, you'll lose your rights, you can't vote, they're harder on you in court, and they follow you everywhere.

I'll take misdemeanors for $1000, Alex.

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Re:What could happen if you refuse to unlock your phone at t... by jrochkind1 on Thursday February 16, 2017 @10:41AM (#13660730)

The OP article says this particular law hasn't really been tested in court, nobody's really sure if it's legal or not. One way to find out. I'm up for it. As a US citizen with white skin and money for a lawyer, it's unlikely anything _too_ terrible will happen to me. It is at worst a misdemeanor.

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Re:What could happen if you refuse to unlock your phone at t... by M_Grey on Thursday February 16, 2017 @10:58AM (#13660912)

You want to bet on that, with the Trump administration? I'll say an 'ave' for you.

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Re:What could happen if you refuse to unlock your phone at t... by jrochkind1 on Thursday February 16, 2017 @11:02AM (#13660949)

I do, yes. I'm white, I've got some money (and family with more money; for lawyers, I mean), I'm a US citizen. That's within the level of risk I'm willing to take for standing up for freedom. We're not going to fight this stuff without being willing to take any risk at all. That's being a human, doing what's right involves some risk and sacrifice, almost always.

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Re:What could happen if you refuse to unlock your phone at t... by M_Grey on Thursday February 16, 2017 @11:18AM (#13661103)

Well, thanks for being willing to take a bullet for the collective good, and I wish you the best of luck with it.

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