Topic: Warning to Teachers Returning to USA from Thailand

[Thai Me Up]

Your laptop and flash drive WILL BE searched and can be seized by US Customs.  Once Immigration asks you, "What were you doing in Thailand?" and you answer, "teaching," your immigration card will be redlined and your belongings AND laptop will be searched.  Under the current government that rules the USA, you will be asked to open your laptop and provide any passwords needed to scour the contents of your hard drive.  Also, do not attempt to bring in any DVDs purchased in Thailand as they will be considered illegal copies and you will be treated accordingly by a snarling Customs agent.  To my fellow Americans returning home for the holidays, have a safe and LEGAL return trip back through US Customs.

[Topper]

Thanks for the info TMU.  I daresay that most travelers these day understand what proscriptions apply to electronic devices...but thanks for the reminder!

[Nemesis]

This is a very real problem. I won't merge this with other one we have, but I will post the news articles that was posted last year.

Thanks for the reminder, TMU.


http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/10/24/business/laptop.php

NEW YORK A lot of business travelers are walking around with laptops that contain private corporate information that their employers really do not want outsiders to see.
 
Until recently, their biggest concern was that someone might steal the laptop. But now there's a new worry - that the laptop will be seized or its contents scrutinized at U.S. customs and immigration checkpoints upon entering the United States from abroad.
 
Although much of the evidence for the confiscations remains anecdotal, it's a hot topic this week among more than a thousand corporate travel managers and travel industry officials meeting in Barcelona at a conference of the Association of Corporate Travel Executives.
 
Last week, an informal survey by the association, which has about 2,500 members worldwide, indicated that almost 90 percent of its members were not aware that customs officials have the authority to scrutinize the contents of travelers' laptops and even confiscate laptops for a period of time, without giving a reason.
 
"One member who responded to our survey said she has been waiting for a year to get her laptop and its contents back," said Susan Gurley, the group's executive director. "She said it was randomly seized. And since she hasn't been arrested, I assume she was just a regular business traveler, not a criminal."
 
Appeals are under way in some cases, but the law is clear. "They don't need probable cause to perform these searches under the current law," said Tim Kane, a Washington lawyer who is researching the matter for corporate clients. "They can do it without suspicion or without really revealing their motivations."
 
In some cases, random inspections of laptops have yielded evidence of possession of child pornography. Laptops may be scrutinized and subject to a "forensic analysis" under the so-called border search exemption, which allows searches of people entering the United States and their possessions "without probable cause, reasonable suspicion or a warrant," a federal court ruled in July. In that case, the hard drive of a man's laptop was found to contain images of child pornography.
 
No one is defending criminal possession of child pornography, or even suggesting that the government has nefarious intent in conducting random searches of a traveler's laptop, Gurley said.
 
"But it appears, from information we have, that agents have a lot of discretion in doing these searches, and that there's a whole spectrum of reasons for doing them," she added.
 
The association is asking the government for better guidelines so corporate policies on traveling with proprietary information can be re-evaluated. It is also asking whether corporations need to reduce the proprietary data that travelers carry.
 
"We need to be able to better inform our business travelers what the processes are if their laptops and data are seized - what happens to it, how do you get it back," Gurley said.
 
She added: "The issue is what happens to the proprietary business information that might be on a laptop. Is information copied? Is it returned? We understand that the U.S. government needs to protect its borders. But we want to have transparent information so business travelers know what to do. Should they leave business proprietary information at home?"
 
Besides the possibility for misuse of proprietary information, travel executives are also concerned that a seized computer, and the information it holds, becomes unavailable to its user for a time. One remedy some companies are considering is telling travelers returning to the United States with critical information on their laptop hard drives to encrypt the data and e-mail it to themselves, which at least preserves access to the information, although it does not guard its privacy.
 
In one recent case in California, a federal court went against the trend, ruling that laptop searches were a serious invasion of privacy.
 
"People keep all sorts of personal information on computers," the court ruling said, citing diaries, personal letters, financial records, lawyers' confidential client information and reporters' notes on confidential sources.
 
That court ruled, in that specific case, that "the correct standard requires that any border search of the information stored on a person's electronic storage device be based, at a minimum, on a reasonable suspicion."
 
In its informal survey last week, the association also found that 87 percent of its members would be less likely to carry confidential business or personal information on international trips now that they were aware of how easily laptop contents could be searched.
 
"We are telling our members that they should prepare for the eventuality that this could happen, and they have to think more about how they handle proprietary information," Gurley said. "Potentially, this is going to have a real effect on how international business is conducted."

[los_teacher]

I traveled to the USA a few months ago and my laptop and flash drive WERE NOT inspected by customs at all.

[Geekboy]

They didn't search mine when I went back in October, but they did inspect the laptop from someone else on my flight.

[hero]

The thing is like all such checks is, if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to worry about, if you intend to have something to hide then raise your voice on forums such as these about the injustice of your not being able to hide what you want to hide!

That's not the way I see it at all - I would be more likely to complain if I had nothing to hide and was greatly inconvenienced!  But then I'm not American and have never been there .....

[luke soi walker]

What's the legality of having a bunch of ripped videos on one's hard drive?
How could they determine the if videos are "legitimate" copies or not?
One could claim that you made copies of your DVD collection....right?

[luke soi walker]

Yes you could claim just that, but then you would have to prove it!

Well, I could produce a bill of sale from Pattaya Bob. You see officer, I bought his entire DVD collection, all legit, before he passed away.

But seriously, I, like a lot of people keep gigs and gigs of media on my computer, to be able to enjoy my tunes and movies whenever and wherever I want. I've got legit copies of stuff I bought 10-15 years ago, in addition to newer items that I didn't buy (heh heh).

It's impossible to account for all of it, which I guess the officials are counting on, as they slap you with a heavy fine or worse.

[Topper]

I would doubt they would worry too much about the videos as long as they're not pornographic.  If you had the physical DVD's that would be another matter I would guess.

I'm sure there's a website somewhere that describes what is cool and what isn't.  I'll take a look this evening and post a link.

[Nemesis]

You are allowed up to 20 copyrighted items when coming in. I forget the law where it is written down.

[Topper]

I just took a quick look....about 30 minutes....I couldn't find any information on any of the government websites.

But information and government websites at times can be an oxymoron.

[Nemesis]

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/kbyg/prohibited_restricted.xml#TrademarkedandCopyrightedArticles

Sorry the restriction is one of each type. I've a 20 total bandied about as the point when things turn south.
 
Trademarked and Copyrighted Articles
CBP enforces laws relating to the protection of trademarks and copyrights. Articles that infringe a federally registered trademark or copyright or copyright protected by the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works are subject to detention and/or seizure. Infringing articles may consist of articles that use a protected right without the authorization of the trademark or copyright owner or articles that copy or simulate a protected right.

Articles bearing marks that are counterfeit or inappropriately using a federally registered trademark are subject to seizure and forfeiture.The importation of articles intended for sale or public distribution bearing counterfeit marks may subject an individual to a civil fine if the registered trademark has also been recorded with CBP. Articles bearing marks that are confusingly similar to a CBP recorded registered trademark , and restricted gray market articles (goods bearing genuine marks not intended for U.S. importation for which CBP granted gray market protection) are subject to detention and seizure.

However, travelers arriving in the United States may be permitted an exemption and allowed to import one article of each type, which must accompany the person, bearing a counterfeit, confusingly similar or restricted gray market trademark, provided that the article is for personal use and is not for sale.

This exemption may be granted not more than once every 30 days. The arriving passenger may retain one article of each type accompanying the person. For example, an arriving person who has three purses, whether each bears a different infringing trademark, or whether all three bear the same infringing trademark, is permitted only one purse. If the article imported under the personal exemption provision is sold within one year after the date of importation, the article or its value is subject to forfeiture.

In regard to copyright infringement, articles that are determined by CBP to be clearly piratical of a protected copyright, i.e., unauthorized articles that are substantially similar to a material protected by a copyright, are subject to seizure. A personal use exemption for articles, similar to that described above also applies to copyrighted articles for the personal, non-commercial use of the importer and are not for sale or distribution.

You may bring back genuine trademarked and copyrighted articles (subject to duties). Products subject to copyright protection most commonly imported include software on CD-ROMs, sound recordings, toys, stuffed animals, clothing with cartoon characters, videotapes, DVDs, music CDs, and books. Products subject to trademark protection most commonly imported include handbags and accessories, and clothing.

[hero]

Don't they have better things to do?

[Nemesis]

No, they want the movies, pron and software for themselves.

[luke soi walker]

It seems a fairer application would be to target tourists rather than returning or visiting expats.
Living abroad you accumulate a lot of stuff. At some point you're gonna want to repatriate your stuff back to your home country. It doesn't mean that your going to try to sell your stuff - it's for your personal use.

I would think that short term tourists would be more prone to buying pirated merchandise and trying to sell it back home. In fact I know of some people who've done it on a regular basis.