Latest news with #SophiaCope
The Intercept
01-07-2025
- Politics
- The Intercept
State Department Wants to Know Student Visa Applicants' Myspace Accounts
New State Department guidance released this month instructs student visa applicants to 'adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media profiles to 'public,'' a task which will be difficult to accomplish as several social media services listed in the online visa application form haven't been operational in years. The student visa form requires applicants to provide the usernames for 'each social media platform you have used within the last five years' from a list of 20 specified services, some of them obsolete. This means applicants could find themselves in the awkward position of being required to make public their profiles on the short-form video service Vine, which closed in 2017; the short-lived social media platform Google+, which shut down in 2019; or the dating site Twoo, which ceased operations in 2021. Most U.S. visa applicants have been required to disclose their profile names on social media accounts since 2019. The Trump administration rolled out new requirements for those seeking student visas under an 'expanded screening and vetting' process. The expanded scrutiny applies to F (academic students), M (vocational students), and J (exchange visitor) visa applicants. According to a State Department cable, obtained by the Free Press and Politico, the provided social media accounts will subsequently be checked for 'any indications of hostility towards the citizens, culture, government, institutions or founding principles of the United States.' The DS-160: Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application form doesn't appear to have been updated to reflect State's recent guidance, as it doesn't presently make any mention of the accounts needing to be made public. The social media section of the DS-160 visa application form. U.S. State Department 'Government social media surveillance invades privacy and chills freedom of speech, and it is prone to errors and misinterpretation without ever having been proven effective at assessing security threats,' warned Sophia Cope, a senior staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. She said that by requiring social media accounts be made public, 'the U.S. government is endorsing the violation of a fundamental principle of privacy hygiene.' The online visa application lists a dropdown menu with 20 social media accounts to choose from. Douban Facebook Flickr Google+ Instagram LinkedIn Myspace Pinterest Qzone (QQ) Reddit Sina Weibo Tencent Weibo Tumblr Twitter Twoo Vine VKontakte (VK) Youku YouTube The list is mishmash of popular social media providers, regional services (predominantly those used in China), and a bevy of outdated and defunct platforms, such as Myspace, which has been a digital ghost town for years. A quarter of the sites listed no longer exist at all, with some already being defunct when the visa application form first started requiring the disclosure of social media usernames in 2019. That includes a Latvian service where users could ask questions that closed last year, and Tencent Weibo, a Chinese microblogging service that shut down in 2020. 'Those who wanted to study in the U.S. to flee authoritarian governments abroad will have to make their social media public to those same governments to study here.' Among the included services are Douban, Qzone, Sina Weibo, and Youku — all active Chinese social network sites. Despite listing five different Chinese social media sites, the form leaves off Tencent's WeChat, China's most popular social media app. VKontakte is the only Russian social media service appearing on the list. No other popular regional social media sites are included. Other modern social media platforms, such as TikTok or Trump's own Truth Social, are missing from the list as well, though the visa form does allow applicants to specify additional accounts. Asked for comment on how this list of social media platforms was compiled, or whether there are plans to update the online form, a State Department spokesperson provided a statement summarizing the new guidance and said that 'the Trump Administration is focused on protecting our nation and our citizens by upholding the highest standards of national security and public safety through our visa process.' Albert Fox Cahn, founder and executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, described the policy as 'antithetical to everything our First Amendment should protect,' pointing out that 'not only will these shortsighted efforts fail to protect the public, they'll put countless students at risk. Now those who wanted to study in the U.S. to flee authoritarian governments abroad will have to make their social media public to those same governments to study here.'
RNZ News
30-06-2025
- RNZ News
Can US Customs legally search your phone and what can you do about it?
Photo: RNZ Explainer - We carry our entire lives on our phones these days, but that also can make you particularly vulnerable when travelling to another country. When visiting America, US Customs have the right to search your devices - as do many other countries. After the return of Donald Trump to the presidency this year, there have been increased reports of travellers to the US denied entry and some detained in custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). New Zealand has recently updated its advice to those travelling to the US to highlight the risks and what travellers may face, including inspection of your laptops, phones and tablets. Is this legal, and is there anything you can do to protect your security? Here's what you need to know. They sure can. It is laid out clearly on the US Customs and Border Protection website . Sophia Cope is a senior staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco, a nonprofit organisation that defends civil liberties. She said Customs have a wide remit to conduct inspections. "Customs and Border Protection (CBP) asserts broad authority to search travellers' devices at ports of entry (like international airports), even devices of American citizens," she said. US Customs claims the searches help fight crime before it enters the country. The CBP defines "devices" to be: "Any device that may contain information in an electronic or digital form, such as computers, tablets, disks, drives, tapes, mobile phones and other communication devices, cameras, music and other media players." "These device searches are unconstitutional," the Electronic Frontier Foundation writes on its website, calling searches "exceptionally intrusive" . The Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government, but border agents have been found to have wide exceptions under legal doctrine. Non-US citizens do not necessarily have all of the same guaranteed constitutional rights that American citizens do. The US government claims that in 2024, less than 0.01 percent of arriving international travellers had their devices searched. However, there has been a strong surge in immigration crackdowns since Trump returned to the White House. Trump issued an executive order in January calling to "vet and screen to the maximum degree possible all aliens who intend to be admitted, enter, or are already inside the United States". Customs has the right to vet and screen visitors entering the US. Photo: AFP / Getty Images North America If you're a non-citizen trying to enter the US, refusal to comply with a device search may result in being denied entry, Cope said. "American citizens have the most leverage to refuse to comply because they must be let back into the country," Cope said. "However, they can be detained for several hours, subjected to additional questioning, and their devices can be confiscated for days, weeks, or months." US green card holders should also be let back in the country, but that has sometimes changed in recent months, she said. "We've seen the current administration display a willingness to challenge green card status, and so these travellers should take that into consideration." Donald Trump's administration has tightened border security. Photo: AFP "These searches have been used to identify and combat terrorist activity, child pornography, drug smuggling, human smuggling, bulk cash smuggling, human trafficking, export control violations, intellectual property rights violations and visa fraud, among other violations," the CBP website states . CBP also says searches can be used to see what a visitor's "intentions" are in coming to the US: "Furthermore, border searches of electronic devices are often integral to determining an individual's intentions upon entry to the United States and thus provide additional information relevant to admissibility of foreign nationals under US immigration laws." The CBP says it can retain copies of information obtained from a border search if it contains evidence of violation of law, or more broadly, "if the information relates to immigration, customs, or other enforcement matters." Data that is retained is kept in the CBP's systems, which it says have "robust access controls limiting user access to only those with a need to know". CBP should not access data stored in cloud services, Cope said. "CBP's 2018 policy expressly prohibits officers from looking at live cloud content on devices seized at the border/airports/other ports of entry. Border agents must put a device in airplane mode or otherwise disconnect it from the internet." The EFF has put together an extensive digital privacy guide for travellers , she said. The Foreign Affairs Ministry updated its travel advice to New Zealanders in May, including warnings about possible detention at the border . The US is under guidance for travellers to "exercise increased caution" on the government's Safe Travel website . A spokesperson for MFAT said that as of late June, 16 New Zealanders had requested assistance with immigration difficulties in the US since January. "This is made up of issues at the border and also in the community. It doesn't mean these people were detained," MFAT said. MFAT's Safe Travel website warns that on arrival to the US, "your travel documents, reasons for travel, or belongings (including electronic devices) may be subject to scrutiny and inspection". There have been multiple reports of people visiting the US having trouble at the border over political speech. Australian Alistair Kitchen was detained and questioned about views on Israel and Palestine before being deported from LA to Melbourne. He told RNZ's Jesse Mulligan that his name was called over a loudspeaker before he was even through the Customs queue. "I was pulled into the back room and my phone was demanded and my passcode was demanded and I realised at that moment that this wasn't random or ad hoc but they had been waiting for me, and they told me as much. Australian writer Alistair Kitchen. Photo: Supplied "They said, the reason you're here is because of these posts you wrote online about the protests at Colombia (University) ... and I had taken those posts down days before I got on the plane." The Department of Homeland Security has denied Kitchen was deported over his political views. "The individual in question was denied entry because he gave false information on his ESTA application regarding drug use," it said in a statement, although Kitchen maintains he was first singled out for screening over his political posts. Social media can leave plenty of traces even if they are not on your phone. "Social media apps can contain cached or copied content that is on the device's hard drive, even though the original content is principally stored on the social media company's servers," Cope said. "Thus, when a device is in airplane mode, some of that content may be viewable on the device, even if it's otherwise private. As such, people can delete those apps for the purpose of travel and reinstall them later to avoid border agents accessing cached private social media content." A New Zealand telecommunications expert who asked not to be named told RNZ that "I suspect if you've been online telling everyone what you think about Donald, it's too late" even if you delete information from your phone. The expert said that the information is out there and seen by companies such as Peter Thiel-founded mass surveillance technology company Palantir. "If apps are deleted on a phone but an officer knows ahead of time about a traveller's social media, the lack of the apps on the phone might lead to more scrutiny and questioning," Cope said. "I had prepared," Kitchen said. "You go through the passport control and you do make sure that your social media has been cleaned up, that your phone is missing messages that might have been critical of Donald Trump, for example. ...In my case, it was not sufficient exactly because they had already done this background search on me." US Immigration Customs and Enforcement teams - ICE - have been cracking down on illegal immigration. Photo: US ICE Many other countries can also search your phone at Customs. In New Zealand, Customs has had the power since 1996 to examine all goods crossing the border, including devices. However, Customs said "officers must have 'reasonable suspicion' of criminal offending before searching an electronic device and must have "reasonable cause to believe" that an electronic device has offending material on it before detaining it". If you refuse access, courts can impose a penalty of up to NZ$5000 - but this is only possible if Customs decides to prosecute the traveller. Customs claims on its website that most passengers entering New Zealand do not have their devices searched. The advice from some tech experts is to make a plan before travelling if you're concerned about data on your phone - but it might not be a good idea to buy a pristine cheap "burner" phone for a trip. "We've heard anecdotally that travelling with a temporary device or an otherwise "clean" device devoid of any personal information can itself raise suspicions with border officers," Cope said. "At the same time, travellers may have very sensitive information on their devices, especially if you're someone with ethical or legal obligations for confidentiality such as a journalist, attorney, or doctor. "But even average people may have personal photos or texts or emails that reveal sensitive or intimate things about themselves or their families that they wouldn't want a US federal agent to see. "People should therefore think about what privacy interests they have and mitigate their risks - both of a privacy invasion and of being denied entry or escalating an interaction with a CBP officer - to the extent they feel comfortable." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
South China Morning Post
06-05-2025
- South China Morning Post
Carrying a burner phone and 7 other precautions to take when you enter Trump's America
When entering the United States through an airport or seaport, your electronic devices – laptops, phones, tablets – can be subject to search by Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Advertisement A basic search involves an officer manually reviewing the device's contents without using any external tools. An advanced search uses specialised equipment to access, copy and analyse the data on your device. This more invasive search requires reasonable suspicion of a law being broken or a national security threat, and must be approved by a senior Customs or Border Protection official. But border agents do not need a warrant to conduct either one of these searches. An electronic device subject to search is any 'that may contain information in an electronic or digital form, such as computers, tablets, disks, drives, tapes, mobile phones and other communication devices, cameras, music and other media players', according to Customs and Border Protection. We say everyone should have a plan before travel Sophia Cope, senior lawyer with the Electronic Frontier Foundation The issue has made headlines in recent weeks after a lawyer was detained in early April at the Detroit airport by customs officials, who told him they would confiscate his phone unless he gave it to them to look through his contacts.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Yahoo
Visiting the US? Protect the data on your phone from border searches
When entering the United States through an airport or seaport, your electronic devices — laptops, phones, tablets —can be subject to search by officials from the Customs and Border Protection. A basic search involves an officer manually reviewing the device's contents without using any external tools. An advanced search uses specialized equipment to access, copy and analyze the data on your device. This more invasive search requires reasonable suspicion of a law being broken or a national security threat, and must be approved by a senior Customs or Border Protection official. But, border agents do not need a warrant to conduct either one of these searches. An electronic device subject to search is any 'that may contain information in an electronic or digital form, such as computers, tablets, disks, drives, tapes, mobile phones and other communication devices, cameras, music and other media players,' according to Customs and Border Protection. The issue has made headlines in recent weeks after a Michigan attorney was detained in early April at the Detroit airport by Customs officials, who told him they would confiscate his phone unless he gave it to them to look through his contacts. (Because he was a US citizen, he was given back his phone and eventually allowed to reenter the country after a family vacation in the Dominican Republic.) 'We say everyone should have a plan before travel,' said Sophia Cope, senior attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation nonprofit focused on civil rights in the digital age. The EFF, an international digital rights group, has created anextensive guide on how to protect your digital privacy at the border. Cope said the foundation does not 'discourage people from handing over the actual physical device,' as federal agents have the right to inspect it. However, Cope said to be aware that an officer may ask for a device to be unlocked or requests the passcode: 'The traveler has to know what they're going to do in that moment, either they're going to comply or they're not going to comply.' Here are key steps in protecting the data on your device: Minimize your phone's data Before you travel, delete sensitive data on your phone or move it to secure cloud storage (and log out of those accounts). If you're a journalist, attorney, doctor or other professional, you have a special responsibility to protect sensitive data—whether it's confidential sources, privileged client information, or even personal content like photos or private messages, Cope said. The EFF also suggests leaving behind electronic devices such as laptops and computers, if possible. Use strong passwords and encryption Enable full-disk encryption — on an iPhone, go to Settings and Face ID & Passcode, where you should see the phrase data protection is enabled at the bottom of the page. Also, set up strong, alphanumeric passwords and disable facial recognition and fingerprint identification, as these may be easier to compel. CBP and other law enforcement agencies can use advanced forensic tools to recover deleted files and reveal past activity on your device, even if it's not visible at first glance, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation. But the EFF discourages people from trying to hide data on their devices. 'We recommend against using methods that may be, or even appear to be, calculated to deceive or mislead border agents about what data is present on a device,' she said. Back up your data 'Backups prevent your data from being lost if your device is seized, stolen, or broken—risks that are significantly heightened during international travel,' according to the EFF. The EFF has a guide on how to enable advanced data protection on IOS and a Surveillance Self Defense Guide. You may choose to safeguard your data at home or work or use an online backup you can access while traveling. Power down devices Turn off your devices completely and make sure they're disconnected from wi-fi before arriving at Customs. This ensures that full-disk encryption is active and adds a layer of protection. Get a temporary phone For especially sensitive travel, consider using a temporary or burner phone with only the essential data needed for your trip, but be prepared for any questions that may arise from agents. 'Sometimes having a completely wiped phone or that kind of very clean travel device might itself raise suspicions,' said Cope. She suggests that travelers be prepared to give an honest answer when using a travel phone. 'You don't want to be in a situation where what you've done or what you're saying could be interpreted as lying to a federal agent, and that's a crime,' Cope said. Know your rights You have the right to refuse a search—even if there may be consequences, such as having your electronics confiscated. Assert your rights calmly and ask whether you're free to go. If a device is confiscated, ask for a receipt. Cope said if you choose not to comply with a request, border agents might let it go if it's just a routine inspection and you're not a specific concern, but there's also a chance it could upset them. 'You kind of have to hope for the best,' she said. Be prepared to seek legal support If you believe your rights are violated, legal organizations like the EFF can help. Document the encounter and seek assistance as soon as possible. What about social media? Under its 2018 policy, 'CBP expressly says that they are not allowed ... to look at live cloud content,' Cope said. To make sure officers don't access any information stored online, CBP officers will either ask the traveler to turn off internet and network connections or they'll turn them off themselves, according to the CBP website This includes both public and private social media—whether it's a public Instagram or a private Facebook account, Cope said. Previously, she said, officers were able to open the apps and scroll through the accounts. This rule also applies to other devices like laptops or iPads. Customs agents are only permitted to review data 'resident on the device,' which means information that's physically stored on the hard drive, Cope said. However, she notes a technical caveat: Even though data like emails or social media content live primarily in the cloud, 'copies are downloaded onto the device,' so agents might still see remnants of cloud content. She recommends that travelers 'delete social media apps' and 'clear the cache' in browsers as a precaution.
Miami Herald
17-04-2025
- Miami Herald
Planning a trip abroad? Here's how protect the data on your devices at U.S. border searches
When entering the United States through an airport or seaport, your electronic devices—laptops, phones, tablets—can be subject to search by Customs and Border Protection. A basic search involves an officer manually reviewing the device's contents without using any external tools. An advanced search uses specialized equipment to access, copy and analyze the data on your device. This more invasive search requires reasonable suspicion of a law being broken or a national security threat, and must be approved by a senior Customs or Border Protection official. But, border agents do not need a warrant to conduct either one of these searches. An electronic device subject to search is any 'that may contain information in an electronic or digital form, such as computers, tablets, disks, drives, tapes, mobile phones and other communication devices, cameras, music and other media players,' according to Customs and Border Protection. The issue has made headlines in recent weeks after a Michigan attorney was detained in early April at the Detroit airport by Customs officials, who told him they would confiscate his phone unless he gave it to them to look through his contacts. (Because he was a U.S. citizen, he was given back his phone and eventually allowed to reenter the country after a family vacation in the Dominican Republic.) 'We say everyone should have a plan before travel,' said Sophia Cope, senior attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation nonprofit focused on civil rights in the digital age. The EFF created an extensive guide on how to protect your digital privacy at the border. Cope said the foundation does not 'discourage people from handing over the actual physical device,' as federal agents have the right to inspect it. However, Cope said to be aware that an officer may ask for a device to be unlocked or requests the passcode: 'The traveler has to know what they're going to do in that moment, either they're going to comply or they're not going to comply.' Here are key steps in protecting the data on your device: Minimize your phone's data Before you travel, delete sensitive data on your phone or move it to secure cloud storage (and log out of those accounts). If you're a journalist, attorney, doctor or other professional, you have a special responsibility to protect sensitive data—whether it's confidential sources, privileged client information, or even personal content like photos or private messages, Cope said. The EFF also suggests leaving behind electronic devices such as laptops and computers, if possible. Use strong passwords and encryption Enable full-disk encryption — on an iPhone, go to Settings and Face ID & Passcode, where you should see the phrase data protection is enabled at the bottom of the page. Also, set up strong, alphanumeric passwords and disable facial recognition and fingerprint identification, as these may be easier to compel. CBP and other law enforcement agencies can use advanced forensic tools to recover deleted files and reveal past activity on your device, even if it's not visible at first glance, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation. But the EFF discourages people from trying to hide data on their devices. 'We recommend against using methods that may be, or even appear to be, calculated to deceive or mislead border agents about what data is present on a device,' she said. Back up your data 'Backups prevent your data from being lost if your device is seized, stolen, or broken—risks that are significantly heightened during international travel,' according to the EFF. The EFF has a guide on how to enable advanced data protection on IOS and a Surveillance Self Defense Guide. You may choose to safeguard your data at home or work or use an online backup you can access while traveling. Power down devices Turn off your devices completely and make sure they're disconnected from WiFi before arriving at Customs. This ensures that full-disk encryption is active and adds a layer of protection. Get a temporary phone For especially sensitive travel, consider using a temporary or burner phone with only the essential data needed for your trip, but be prepared for any questions that may arise from agents. 'Sometimes having a completely wiped phone or that kind of very clean travel device might itself raise suspicions,' said Cope. She suggests that travelers be prepared to give an honest answer when using a travel phone. 'You don't want to be in a situation where what you've done or what you're saying could be interpreted as lying to a federal agent, and that's a crime,' Cope said. Know your rights You have the right to refuse a search—even if there may be consequences, such as having your electronics confiscated. Assert your rights calmly and ask whether you're free to go. If a device is confiscated, ask for a receipt. Cope said if you choose not to comply with a request, border agents might let it go if it's just a routine inspection and you're not a specific concern, but there's also a chance it could upset them. 'You kind of have to hope for the best,' she said. Be prepared to seek legal support If you believe your rights are violated, legal organizations like the EFF can help. Document the encounter and seek assistance as soon as possible. What about social media? Under its 2018 policy, 'CBP expressly says that they are not allowed ... to look at live cloud content,' Cope said. To make sure officers don't access any information stored online, CBP officers will either ask the traveler to turn off internet and network connections or they'll turn them off themselves, according to the CBP website This includes both public and private social media—whether it's a public Instagram or a private Facebook account, Cope said. Previously, she said, officers were able to open the apps and scroll through the accounts. This rule also applies to other devices like laptops or iPads. Customs agents are only permitted to review data 'resident on the device,' which means information that's physically stored on the hard drive, Cope said. However, she notes a technical caveat: Even though data like emails or social media content live primarily in the cloud, 'copies are downloaded onto the device,' so agents might still see remnants of cloud content. She recommends that travelers 'delete social media apps' and 'clear the cache' in browsers as a precaution.
