US security agency defends border agents' right to seize laptops

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) — A key US national security agency on Friday defended the right of border officials to seize laptops from travelers even if they are not suspected of criminal activity, as lawmakers and rights activists slammed the policy as unconstitutional and alarming.

"Since the founding of the republic, we have had broad authority to conduct searches at the border to prevent the entrance into this country of dangerous persons and goods," Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokeswoman Amy Kudwa told AFP.

"In the 21st century, the most dangerous contraband is most often contained in electronic media, not on paper. The age of micro-fiches and paper files is long over," she said.

The DHS last month made public policy documents, one of which authorizes...