The Cops Can Pretty Much Always Search Your Smartphone in Canada

[viper37]

As for searching cell phones - especially "requiring passwords" - that seems pretty obnoxious to me. I can see arguments for and against, but I don't like it. Ultimately, I think it's something that should be explicitly legislated - ideally with expert input - rather than interpreted from legislation that date before the concept of "data on smartphones" was even conceived.

I think we could draw a parallel on previous legislations/rules, no?  What were the specific procedures for checking one's camera before smartphones?  Did they ask to check the negatives at customs?  Did they force people to wait while they develop photographs if there was a hint of suspicion? If you had a video camera, could they ask you to show them what you filmed?

[derspiess]

One thing that is very noticeable at international airports is that Americans always take off their shoes for security scans which is typically not required anywhere except in the US.

It's the polite thing to do.  We don't want to dirty the floors

[Barrister]

One thing that is very noticeable at international airports is that Americans always take off their shoes for security scans which is typically not required anywhere except in the US.

Yeah, one shoe bomber on a US flight ruins it for everybody.

Except it was a Paris-US flight, and the bomber was British.

ANyways, it's just funny to note the discrepancy.

[viper37]

Yeah, my initial impression of Quebec was tainted by rudeness at the border. Of course, later I met someone who told me that he was one of the managers along the border and it sound like they had been unusually dickish.

Which I can attest to as never was quite the same on my later visits.

they probably worried about illegal US immigrants.  It's quite a problem here, people fleeing this oppressive land where Obama is trying to seize all your guns and turn you into a communist haven.

[CountDeMoney]

Yeah, one shoe bomber on a US flight ruins it for everybody.

Except it was a Paris-US flight, and the bomber was British.

ANyways, it's just funny to note the discrepancy.

None of that makes it any less of a "US flight". 

Lawyers.

[Ed Anger]

Yeah, one shoe bomber on a US flight ruins it for everybody.

Except it was a Paris-US flight, and the bomber was British.

ANyways, it's just funny to note the discrepancy.

None of that makes it any less of a "US flight". 

Lawyers.

He has been a real square lately.

[Ideologue]

It's ridiculous that you folks' customs agents check your smartphone at the border.  Canadian SIGINT must suck.

[garbon]

One thing that is very noticeable at international airports is that Americans always take off their shoes for security scans which is typically not required anywhere except in the US.

Yeah, one shoe bomber on a US flight ruins it for everybody.

But we are aorta rolling that back - like when you get sorted to the quick lane.

[Eddie Teach]

But we are aorta rolling that back

Don't you touch my aorta!

[grumbler]

They are asking you those questions because they want to see if you get nervous or flub the answers. This is completely normal "casual" interrogation techniques. The goal isn't to capture every secret agent, it is to just do some very basic spot checking to see if people can answer simple question as needed about what they are doing and where they are going.

I think that your argument is valid up to the point that the immigrations guy goes into flaming asshole mode.  He asks a casual, vague question, gets a casual, vague answer, and movies on.  Unless he is looking to play the asshole, in which case he treats the casual answer to the casual question as an insult.  There is no right answer for an asshole; you just have to complain later and hope his type gets weeded out.

[CountDeMoney]

Dorsey/AR/DGuller/Ted Bundy strikes me as the type that can flip a cop's "asshole" switch pretty fucking quickly.

[Barrister]

They are asking you those questions because they want to see if you get nervous or flub the answers. This is completely normal "casual" interrogation techniques. The goal isn't to capture every secret agent, it is to just do some very basic spot checking to see if people can answer simple question as needed about what they are doing and where they are going.

I think that your argument is valid up to the point that the immigrations guy goes into flaming asshole mode.  He asks a casual, vague question, gets a casual, vague answer, and movies on.  Unless he is looking to play the asshole, in which case he treats the casual answer to the casual question as an insult.  There is no right answer for an asshole; you just have to complain later and hope his type gets weeded out.

Except AR gave him the right answer - he gave a more detailed answer, and was not chosen for secondary inspection and instead was waived on through.

[crazy canuck]

They are asking you those questions because they want to see if you get nervous or flub the answers. This is completely normal "casual" interrogation techniques. The goal isn't to capture every secret agent, it is to just do some very basic spot checking to see if people can answer simple question as needed about what they are doing and where they are going.

I think that your argument is valid up to the point that the immigrations guy goes into flaming asshole mode.  He asks a casual, vague question, gets a casual, vague answer, and movies on.  Unless he is looking to play the asshole, in which case he treats the casual answer to the casual question as an insult.  There is no right answer for an asshole; you just have to complain later and hope his type gets weeded out.

Except AR gave him the right answer - he gave a more detailed answer, and was not chosen for secondary inspection and instead was waived on through.

Agreed.  Grumbler's point would have more validity if AR had been sent for a secondary search.   But I do appreciate Grumbler's ability to read so much into AR's story and conclude that the border guard treated AR's answer as an insult.  That is some mighty powerful mindreading right there.

[grumbler]

Dorsey/AR/DGuller/Ted Bundy strikes me as the type that can flip a cop's "asshole" switch pretty fucking quickly.

[grumbler]

They are asking you those questions because they want to see if you get nervous or flub the answers. This is completely normal "casual" interrogation techniques. The goal isn't to capture every secret agent, it is to just do some very basic spot checking to see if people can answer simple question as needed about what they are doing and where they are going.

I think that your argument is valid up to the point that the immigrations guy goes into flaming asshole mode.  He asks a casual, vague question, gets a casual, vague answer, and movies on.  Unless he is looking to play the asshole, in which case he treats the casual answer to the casual question as an insult.  There is no right answer for an asshole; you just have to complain later and hope his type gets weeded out.

Except AR gave him the right answer - he gave a more detailed answer, and was not chosen for secondary inspection and instead was waived on through.

In a sense, yes.  He let the cops play his asshole game, and avoided the bullshit secondary inspection punishment for not playing the game and kissing the guy's ass.  He didn't say anything about complaining, though, and enough people complaining is the only way to get guys like the immigration guy the shitcanning they deserve.