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Is it safe to travel to the United States with your phone?

Know your rights, but also minimize your risk.

In recent weeks, airport Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents have drawn public outcry for denying travelers US entry based on searches of their phones. The Ninth Circuit — which includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington — prohibits warrantless forensic searches unless officers are looking for “digital contraband,” such as child sexual abuse material. But given the Trump administration’s recent track record of ignoring the law and flouting judicial orders, limiting what can be found on your phone is a safer bet than suing the government over an unlawful search after the fact.

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