[Periodic]

If you do that, then you may be judged solely on your passport. That's fine if you come from a stable and prosperous country. Traveling abroad on a German or US Passport? You're probably fine. Try the same thing on a Syrian passport and you're probably going to run into problems.

I agree that we should protest, but it won't help that middle eastern student who wants to go to a conference or the business person who wants to meet a potential trade partner. Both need to travel for their livelihood, and depending on their circumstances it could significantly affect their life at home based on the opportunities they can find abroad.

They might not have the luxury or the courage to simply walk away.

In the US we have a way to stop this: we have to be loud enough to be heard. That doesn't involve civil disobedience (no one would listen to spoiled US citizens) but we can complain to our politicians, we can protest, we can get into the media with it. Unfortunately, it's not a majority opinion and will likely be drowned out in favor of the current wave of xenophobia sweeping US politics. If you did this coming into the US, half the country would just say they were glad you didn't come.

At this point, civil disobedience on the issue is likely irresponsible.

[tristor]

> At this point, civil disobedience on the issue is likely irresponsible.

That might be true if it were only the US doing this, as the US provides other measures to fight this type of ridiculousness. It's not /only/ the US that's doing this sort of thing, it's just that the US is now doing it too. Other countries have been doing the same thing for years, and it is something we should fight against worldwide. I see nothing irresponsible about civil disobedience given that this is a global issue of border agents requiring travelers to unlock phones, turn over passwords and social media accounts, etc.

I am fortunate to be traveling on a US passport, so as you point out the consequences for my refusal to cooperate are probably not as dire for me as it would be for someone from some other countries. Nonetheless, standing up for your basic principles and human rights is not a fight that is comfortable. I freely acknowledge that many people who disobey at the border could have life altering consequences for doing so, but it's also not acceptable for these sorts of questions to be asked. It's none of the government's business, frankly. Every individual has to make that choice for themselves.

[rurban]

> It's not /only/ the US that's doing this sort of thing, it's just that the US is now doing it too.

No. Not even China or North Korea is doing this.

Most countries do hold high some principles like constitutional values or civilian rights. Only the US does not.

> I am fortunate to be traveling on a US passport...

Why is this fortunate? You are labelled part of a dark society with no constitutional protections for civilians, military order and generally an outlaw who likes to bully all others. This is not fortunate, esp. if you want to establish trade relationships with people from civilized countries.

[tristor]

Clearly you're trolling, but in the interest of anyone else who might stumble upon this. The US is not even remotely the only country which asks for or requires information at the border they have no business asking for.

* Canada routinely asks for phone unlocks or laptop passwords at the border and has tried and prosecuted one of their own citizens for refusing to give up the information. [1]

* As the currently top-rated poster in this article thread points out, the Thai government asks for social media information at the border. [2]

* It's common in many countries now to ask for access to laptops or phones. This includes Australia, Canada, and the UK as well as the United States obviously.

* The UK has detained reporters [4] and seizes laptops from reporters [5] simply because they were encrypted and refused to turn over passwords. They've prosecuted and jailed 3 people for refusing adamantly to turn over their passwords, including a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic who was a UK citizen. [6]

* Australian Customs requires you to declare pornography at the border, and if you don't or any pornography is discovered which violates the draconian obscenity laws there you can be detained and deported, or criminally charged. [7]

These are all "Western" nations I'm picking on here, but my point is that this isn't some special feature of the "evil US imperialist pigs" as you seem to think. This is a widespread and growing issue all over the world, including in places which most people would consider traditionally to be bastions of human rights. This doesn't even begin to discuss China, or as you mentioned North Korea, or my own experiences traveling in the Middle East and North Africa.

I'm very proud to be American, because I live in a society where despite how far we've fallen, the basic philosophy our country is founded on is one which respects and defends human rights including the right to privacy. It may require a lot of time or something disastrous happening in order to return things to a semblance of reason, but I have a lot more hope for the future of the United States than I do for nations with long histories of being violently oppressive.

Please spread your Pro-NK/China propaganda elsewhere.

[1] http://www.cbc.ca/news/alain-philippon-phone-password-case-p...

[2] http://www.khaosodenglish.com/wp-content/uploads/pre/1460977...

[3] http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/smartphone-laptop-searches-know...

[4] http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-23782782

[5] https://sputniknews.com/voiceofrussia/2013_02_25/Outrageous-...

[6] http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/11/24/ripa_jfl/

[7] http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2010/05/australian-customs-officia...

[sdm]

Sigh, please spread your anti-China propaganda elsewhere. The reality is that going through immigration in China is no where near as draconian or intrusive as in the US and most other Western countries. You don't have people inquisiting you or going through your stuff. It's a quick and efficient and painless process. I do it about every 2 months. I do wish people with no real experience outside of their country stop listing to the massive and unjustified anti-Chinese propaganda the US spews. The reality on the ground couldn't be more different. You have much more to fear for a privacy standpoint entering the US than you do entering China.