Can border patrol agents examine the contents of your personal laptop computer without reasonable suspicion? The answer is yes, according to a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision issued this week.

Following that decision, the Association of Corporate Travel Executives on Wednesday warned its members and other travelers

to limit proprietary information on laptop computers when crossing U.S. borders, and to eliminate any personal data, including photographs, finances and e-mail that you do not want examined by Border Protection authorities.

The case involves Michael Arnold, whom customs officers questioned at Los Angeles International Airport after a flight from the Philippines. After a customs officer asked Arnold to boot up his computer, she and another agent found photos of nude women. Upon further examination, officers found child pornography, and Arnold was later charged with transporting child pornography.

Arnold claimed the government conducted the search without reasonable suspicion and sued to disallow the search. A district court ruled in his favor, but the appellate court reversed the decision. The appellate court said "reasonable suspicion is not needed for customs officials to search a laptop or other personal electronic storage devices at the border" and precedent allows agents latitude based on the country's authority to protect its interests.

ACTE had filed an amicus brief contending that a traveler's laptop was essentially intellectual property and not the same as luggage nor freight. The group says the decision will have "significant impact on business travelers who have no idea their data is subject to search and seizure."

Read the opinion here (PDF, 13 pp).

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