---
title: "To Do: Prevent Unwarranted Searches of Digital Devices at Border Crossings"
summary: |-
  Congress should pass the “Protecting Data at the Border Act” to extend constitutional protections against unwarranted searches of digital devices to apply to travelers at border crossings.
date: "2017-08-25"
issues: ["Privacy"]
content_type: "Knowledge Base Articles"
canonical_url: "https://itif.org/publications/2017/08/25/to-do-prevent-unwarranted-searches-of-digital-devices-at-border-crossings/"
---

# To Do: Prevent Unwarranted Searches of Digital Devices at Border Crossings

# Recommendation

Congress should extend constitutional protections against unwarranted searches of digital devices to border crossings.

# Details

The Supreme Court ruled in 1977 that there are different Fourth Amendment standards for border crossings. This precedent now allows border agents to search the digital devices of anyone entering or leaving the United States without a warrant or even suspicion of wrongdoing. However, searching modern devices is more analogous to searching travelers’ homes, bank files, and health records than their suitcases. Congress should pass Rep. Ted Lieu’s (D-CA) “Protecting Data at the Border Act” to extend constitutional protections against unwarranted searches of digital devices to apply to travelers at border crossings.

**Keep reading:**

- Alan McQuinn, “Digital Rights Don’t Stop at the Border,” Real Clear Policy, August 25, 2017, [https://www.realclearpolicy.com/articles/2017/08/25/digital_rights_dont_stop_at_the_border_110338.html](https://www.realclearpolicy.com/articles/2017/08/25/digital_rights_dont_stop_at_the_border_110338.html).

- Protecting Data at the Border Act, H.R. 2604, 119th Congress (2025), [https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/2604/text](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/2604/text).

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*Source: Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF)*
*URL: https://itif.org/publications/2017/08/25/to-do-prevent-unwarranted-searches-of-digital-devices-at-border-crossings/*