Are airports allowed to check the contents of your laptop?
I am traveling to greece and really want to bring my laptop but I have some copied DVDs and illegally downloaded music on it and am really worried of airport security checking my laptop. Can they legally check the files (I'm going via Australia, Singapore and then Greece)? They would have no reason to believe I'm a threat to security. I am 20, female and white.
Law & Ethics - 8 Answers
People's Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
Answer 1 :
i don't think so last time they didnt check mine...
Answer 2 :
i know customs can and homeland security has probably slimed some way to rationalize it but it doesn't happen.
Answer 3 :
Not yet.
Answer 4 :
You're just paranoid, i doubt they'll check it.
Answer 5 :
MAYBE THE FBI CAN TELL YOU,THEY HAVE AN ARGUMENT WHIT THE SONG DISTRIBUTORS,THE FBI CHASE AND GETS,AND PEOPLE PAID? BE AFRAID?
Answer 6 :
Legally, they can do whatever they want when you go through customs. To err on the side of caution, either don't bring your laptop, or remove all illegal material from it. Though customs isn't going to care too much about music most likely, and not so much about movies either. They may only care if you have porn that would be illegal in the country you are going to.
Answer 7 :
Legally, they can. Practically, they won't. (How long would the lines be, if they searched every electronic device's files?) And, even if they did, they don't work for the publisher of your pirated media, so they don't care. (That's not a criminal offense, it's a civil tort.)
Answer 8 :
You cannot export ANYTHING from the USA without a license. That's the law. The good news is that the law also gives MOST people a license (not a right) to export most of their personal belongings for personal use, but NOT generally anything used for business (which may need a separate declaration and license). Just because you don't declare anything when you are leaving doesn't mean they can't search you at that time or when you return. Yes, they can legally check anything that you are exporting, such as a laptop computer, to make sure you are not smuggling things that you are not allowed to have. If they catch you when you return, you will have to explain where you obtained the contraband and how you took it out of the country without making the necessary export declarations. I am familiar with several cases in which people were arrested for possession of software and data files that they were not allowed to export without a specialized license (rather than the general license you have for your personal belongings). Even if you are exporting commercially available software, there is no guarantee that it is available outside the USA, and you could be in violation. Customs agents can and do check, as agents authorized by the Export Control Act. They can simply pull you aside to a separate room and hold you for as many hours as it takes to go through your computer. The State Department and Commerce Department administer exports. "U.S. Customs officials (now part of the Department of Homeland Security) have the authority to check any export or import against its license at the borders. Criminal and civil penalties for export control violations can be severe. For munitions export control violations, the statute authorizes a maximum criminal penalty of $1 million per violation and, for an individual person, up to 10 years imprisonment." Our software company occasionally had to send an attorney to the airport in Boston to help employees explain what they had on their computer, where they were taking it, why, and what government permission they had. So, they have the duty and power to check what you're exporting on your computer, so there is nothing to prevent them from finding anything else that may be on there. Edit: As a side note -- an "export" includes delivery to a foreign national, even if you're still in the USA
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