cybervampira
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Apple employee files civil complaint against US border agents after they demanded to search phone | Daily Mail Online
Engineer Andreas Gal was returning home to San Francisco International Airport following a business trip in Sweden in November 2018, reported ABC News.
Three armed US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents detained Gal for an hour, asked him about his job at Apple and his previous job at Mozilla, and demanded they be allowed to search through his iPhone XS and MacBook Pro.
However, Gal told the agents that the phone and laptop are owned by Apple and he was worried about revealing its contents due to a non-disclosure agreement he signed.
'Because I was uncertain about my legal responsibilities to my employer, I asked the agents if I could speak to my employer or an attorney before unlocking my devices,' Gal wrote in a post on Medium about the experience.
'This request seemed to aggravate the customs officers.'
Gal told ABC News that he's gone on more than 100 business trips in the past and has never been stopped before.
They told me at the border, even as a US citizen, I don't have any rights to an attorney,' Gal told the station.
'I told them I wanted to speak to an attorney. Then they said they would keep my devices and I said I don't consent to it but I would comply.'
The officers allegedly threatened him that he failed to hand over his devices, he would be in violation of federal criminal code.
Gal was allowed to leave, but the CBP officers confiscated his Global Entry card and revoked his status, which allows him to go through expedited security lines when traveling to the US from abroad.
He said that on his following trip to Europe - specifically Copehagen, Denmark - his boarding pass said 'SSSS' in the corner, which stands for secondary security screening.
In the complaint, which was filed on his behalf with the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, Gal says the incident violated his rights under the First and Fourth Amendments.
Apple employee detained by US border agents over his iPhone and laptop speaks out
https://www.washingtonpost.com/tech...s-agents-after-declining-unlock-phone-laptop/
ACLU claims immigration officers at SFO retaliated against Apple employee
Apple exec's battle with border agents at SFO touches a nerve
Engineer Andreas Gal was returning home to San Francisco International Airport following a business trip in Sweden in November 2018, reported ABC News.
Three armed US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents detained Gal for an hour, asked him about his job at Apple and his previous job at Mozilla, and demanded they be allowed to search through his iPhone XS and MacBook Pro.
However, Gal told the agents that the phone and laptop are owned by Apple and he was worried about revealing its contents due to a non-disclosure agreement he signed.
'Because I was uncertain about my legal responsibilities to my employer, I asked the agents if I could speak to my employer or an attorney before unlocking my devices,' Gal wrote in a post on Medium about the experience.
'This request seemed to aggravate the customs officers.'
Gal told ABC News that he's gone on more than 100 business trips in the past and has never been stopped before.
They told me at the border, even as a US citizen, I don't have any rights to an attorney,' Gal told the station.
'I told them I wanted to speak to an attorney. Then they said they would keep my devices and I said I don't consent to it but I would comply.'
The officers allegedly threatened him that he failed to hand over his devices, he would be in violation of federal criminal code.
Gal was allowed to leave, but the CBP officers confiscated his Global Entry card and revoked his status, which allows him to go through expedited security lines when traveling to the US from abroad.
He said that on his following trip to Europe - specifically Copehagen, Denmark - his boarding pass said 'SSSS' in the corner, which stands for secondary security screening.
In the complaint, which was filed on his behalf with the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, Gal says the incident violated his rights under the First and Fourth Amendments.
Apple employee detained by US border agents over his iPhone and laptop speaks out
https://www.washingtonpost.com/tech...s-agents-after-declining-unlock-phone-laptop/
ACLU claims immigration officers at SFO retaliated against Apple employee
Apple exec's battle with border agents at SFO touches a nerve