At a glance
The US is prosecuting an American citizen for using security software that wiped his phone during a border search, raising concerns about criminalizing privacy protection tools.
Federal prosecutors are pursuing criminal charges against an American citizen for using phone security software that automatically wiped his device during a border search. The software did what it was designed to do—protect data—but the government is treating the deletion as obstruction. This sets a novel legal precedent: using ordinary privacy tools at the border could now be criminal conduct. It's unclear whether the charge will stick, but the prosecution itself signals how aggressive the government is willing to be with data protection.
Citation trail
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