The Cops Can Pretty Much Always Search Your Smartphone in Canada

[grumbler]

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.

Yes, reading is powerful.  Not that you'd know, and not that you could learn it from reading this post, but still...

[crazy canuck]

Yes, reading is powerful.  Not that you'd know, and not that you could learn it from reading this post, but still...

Agreed.  And once you learn how to read and, for example be able to distinguish between a "cop" and a border guard then perhaps you will have something useful to contribute to the conversation.

[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.

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.

Just in case you didn't get the reference to a "cop" I thought I would save this for you lest it get lost along with the post where you said that rights were human. 

[Jacob]

I find people conflating police officers and border agents puzzling.

[Zanza]

You have no expectation of privacy at the border.

You always have an expectation of privacy. Especially from government agents. They should always need a plausible reason why they want to search you and you should always have a way to seek judicial oversight in case you disagree.

[Zanza]

I find people conflating police officers and border agents puzzling.

Fair enough for Canada. But other countries may not distinguish between border guards and police officers, so that can explain why people conflate the two terms.

[alfred russel]

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.

At the time I had a long layover to get home so I had a few hours to kill. Had I not been taken off guard, I would like to think I'd give a reply like, "sorry i'm vague, I spent most of my time completely hammered and don't remember much more than that." It would make a more amusing story, especially with whatever nonsense secondary inspection I could be punished with--definitely more memorable than a few hours in an airport.

I'll be ready next time, but in reality I'll probably never say anything like that because after a long flight I'm tired and just want to get through the nonsense.

[Jacob]

I find people conflating police officers and border agents puzzling.

Fair enough for Canada. But other countries may not distinguish between border guards and police officers, so that can explain why people conflate the two terms.

Interesting. What countries do not distinguish between the two?

The ones I'm familiar with all do, as far as I know.

[Zanza]

Interesting. What countries do not distinguish between the two?

The ones I'm familiar with all do, as far as I know.

Germany

[grumbler]

I find people conflating police officers and border agents puzzling.

I find it puzzling that people quibble over the slight misuse of the word "cop."  In what way does such a minor misuse change any arguments in the discussion?

[Martinus]

Here in Warsaw cops are much nicer. They bring you mail and put out fires.

[crazy canuck]

You have no expectation of privacy at the border.

You always have an expectation of privacy.

So if a customs officer asks you what you are bringing into the country a person should be able to tell them to mind their own business?

[grumbler]

At the time I had a long layover to get home so I had a few hours to kill. Had I not been taken off guard, I would like to think I'd give a reply like, "sorry i'm vague, I spent most of my time completely hammered and don't remember much more than that." It would make a more amusing story, especially with whatever nonsense secondary inspection I could be punished with--definitely more memorable than a few hours in an airport.

I'll be ready next time, but in reality I'll probably never say anything like that because after a long flight I'm tired and just want to get through the nonsense.

I quite agree with your decision not to play games with the powertripping guy when he has all the cards.  A word to your congressman about the incident, though, can have powerful effects for the good.

[Zanza]

So if a customs officer asks you what you are bringing into the country a person should be able to tell them to mind their own business?

No. Which is why I wrote more than one sentence, but you selectively didn't quote those.

[grumbler]

So if a customs officer asks you what you are bringing into the country a person should be able to tell them to mind their own business?

No. Which is why I wrote more than one sentence, but you selectively didn't quote those.

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I think they used big words.  CC doesn't do big words.