Regulation & enforcement

The Fourth Circuit Says Border Agents Can Search Your Phone By Hand, No Suspicion Required

Published July 22, 2026 · EFF Deeplinks

A federal appeals court ruled that U.S. border officers may manually inspect travelers' phones without needing any individualized suspicion, applying a weaker legal standard than for forensic extraction tools. EFF, the ACLU and criminal defense lawyers had urged the court to require a warrant, or at least treat all device searches alike, but the panel declined. The outcome means highly personal data on travelers' devices can be examined at airports and other border crossings without judicial oversight.

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