A NASA engineer and others are suing Customs for searching their devices

A NASA engineer and 10 others are suing Customs and Border Protection over what they believe to be illegal searches of electronics.

The group of 11 includes 10 U.S. citizens as well as a permanent resident, and they have the backing of the ACLU as well as the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

"This lawsuit challenges searches and seizures of smartphones, laptops, and other electronic devices at the U.S. border in violation of the First and Fourth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution," the lawsuit states.

Sidd Bikkannavar, the NASA engineer, had just flown into Houston after spending some time in Chile, where he was hanging out at a solar-powered car race, when a CBP official allegedly took and searched his phone without a warrant after demanding that Bikkannavar give up his password. Read more...