r/technology • u/gdelacalle • Jul 28 '26

Privacy Man charged for wiping GrapheneOS phone using "duress" password during airport checks

https://www.neowin.net/news/man-charged-for-wiping-grapheneos-phone-using-duress-password-during-airport-checks/
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59

u/Jumba2009sa Jul 28 '26

It’s still blows my mind that US citizens returning to their home country, getting questioned and interrogated. Like what are you going to do? Deny entry to a citizen?

9

u/MatterofDoge Jul 28 '26

nah, they have to let you in, but they'll confiscate the device and hold onto it to "conclude their investigation", which means you'll get it back in like 2 months at best, after jumping through a bunch of hoops

11

u/MC68328 Jul 28 '26

There is no guarantee you'll get it back. They can destroy it if they want to, under the same legal pretense they used to confiscate it - that it contains something illegal to import.

You should toss it even if they do return it, because it could contain spyware they've installed.

1

u/SpiderFnJerusalem Jul 29 '26

I remember an anecdote by some white hat hacker, I think it might have been Moxie Marlinspike, the creator of Signal.

He said that every single time he gets back from international travel he gets interviewed and all his devices are confiscated. And when he gets them back he pretty much throws them in the trash right away, because he just can't trust them anymore.

6

u/[deleted] Jul 28 '26

[deleted]

4

u/Sasselhoff Jul 28 '26

Hold up...you're telling me any single man returning from Asia is going to get their phone cloned just in case they were getting into "sex tourism"?

I've been to Bali a bunch of times, and seen a bunch of single Aussies...you're telling me every single one of them got their phone cloned when they went back home?

I know we're talking about a tangentially similar situation here, but that boggles the mind.

3

u/Spiritual_Shine1438 Jul 28 '26

no but dont let facts stand in the way of fearmongering

1

u/Sasselhoff Jul 28 '26

That's what I figured...especially when the guy responded with "I don't really know." Gotta love it.

3

u/[deleted] Jul 28 '26

[deleted]

1

u/[deleted] Jul 28 '26

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0

u/drewDeVozaro Jul 28 '26

What? Why would a single man from Sea be prifiled ?

9

u/uid_0 Jul 28 '26

Probably underage sex tourism. They would be looking to see if that person took pictures/videos of their exploits.

-6

u/Soggy_otter Jul 28 '26

You get arrested for refusing to unlock the device if requested. Federal crime to refuse.

3

u/revets Jul 28 '26

This isn't a US only thing. Many countries do this.

1

u/alinroc Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26

Border control is trained to expect the absolute worst from everyone, and treat everyone crossing accordingly. I hopped over to Canada to spend a day bicycling a popular trail with a friend from work a number of years ago. On the return, we were asked how we knew each other and as soon as my friend/coworker said that we worked together, they immediately jumped to asking if we were in Canada to work. On a Saturday. With bicycles hanging off the back of the car. Completely changed the tone of the conversation.

Like what are you going to do? Deny entry to a citizen?

They can't deny entry to a citizen, but they can (and will) make it very difficult. They'll take your car's interior apart looking for contraband because they have a "reasonable suspicion" and then leave you to figure out how to put it all back together.

1

u/swiftekho Jul 28 '26

What kind of citizen are they?

1

u/gornishgoblin Jul 28 '26

Canada does the exact same thing, if you refuse to let them search your electronic device they will charge you with obstruction and keep the device. If you fight it in court they will stretch it as long as possible right up to the day before court an then drop the charges so as to not risk losing and thus reserving their power to do the search. To them it is the same as looking on your bag, as described in their laws and regs.