Three-judge panel unanimously says that border police may conduct random searches of laptops without search warrants or probable cause. These searches can include seizing the laptop and subjecting it to extensive forensic analysis.

This really isn't anything new. Travel outside the country has always implied a complete sacrifice of civil liberties. I'm not convinced that this is a good idea. The Constitution prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. In an environment where people are constantly streaming across borders, random intrusive searches for any evidence of any crime goes far beyond the notion of border protection for national security purposes and becomes exactly the sort of dragnet that the Constitution was intended to prohibit. This seems rather obvious when you are talking about random forensic analysis of computers.

Frankly, I'm also becoming concerned about the war on child pornography possession. Although possession of child pornography certainly should be illegal, 10 and 15 year manditory prison sentences for clicking on the wrong website seems unreasonable. When you pile on the specter of random computer forensic analysis at border crossings and long term data retention requirements, the result is that you have something which threatens to do far more damage to civil liberties then the drug war ever did. Is this really necessary to protect children, or is it a political system running amuck with an emotionally charged issue?

Police blotter: Laptop border searches OK'd | CNET News.com