The opinions expressed in this commentary are hers. These are some of the many American citizens re-entering the country who have been subjected to searches of their cellphones and questioning about their social media. Katie FallowSuch invasions of travelers' private communications are extremely intrusive and have been conducted even when officials don't apparently have reason to think the person has done something wrong. And the government has lately increased the practice dramatically — even though recent legal decisions raise serious questions about its constitutionality. On Monday, the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University — whose mission is to defend free speech in the digital age — filed a lawsuit seeking to compel the government to release information on the number of travelers whose devices have been searched, the policies related to searching cellphones containing sensitive and confidential information, and the findings of internal audits about the device search program.

Source: CNN March 29, 2017 01:52 UTC