Political Quotes

“Mr. President, today I, along with my colleague Senator Paul from Kentucky, am introducing the Protecting Data at the Border Act, a bill that protects Americans and U.S. Permanent Residents from warrantless searches of their electronic devices at the border. 1n 2014, the Supreme Court established in California v. Riley that law enforcement agencies must obtain a probable cause search warrant before they can search someone's phone or laptop during a ``search incident to arrest.'' Prior to that decision, law enforcement agencies around the country routinely engaged in warrantless searches of phones and other electronic devices. The Supreme Court rightly recognized that we need new, stronger rules to protect digital information. Although the warrant protections from Riley have been the law of the land for the last three years, a significant loophole has remained: the border. The Riley decision left unresolved the question of whether or not U.S. Customs can search the smartphones and laptops of U.S. persons as they leave the country and return home. This is not a theoretical concern. According to recent statistics provided by Customs and Border Protection, searches of cellphones by border agents has exploded, growing fivefold in just one year, from fewer than 5,000 in 2015 to nearly 25,000 in 2016. Five- thousand devices were searched this last February alone, more than in all of 2015. My colleague, Senator Paul and I intend to close this loophole, ensuring that U.S.…”