U.S. customs searched a record number of electronic devices last year— Recently revised directive adds flash drives, smart watches to searchable devices

7 months ago by Beep to c/technology

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United States customs officers conducted a record number of searches of electronic devices last year of people travelling to the U.S., and a recent update to its directives adds new devices such as smart watches, SIM cards and flash drives to the list of things subject to search.

Officers searched 55,318 computers, cellphones and other devices in 2025, up 17.6 per cent from the 47,047 devices searched in 2024 and up 32.4 per cent from the 41,767 devices searched in 2023, according to statistics from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

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pankuleczkapl 18 points 7 months ago

USB killer would be a fun thing to bring to the US and have it searched despite your claims that it is not a flash drive

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NotMyOldRedditName 13 points 7 months ago

I wonder how that would go if you explicitly tell them what it is and they did it anyway. Hiding its purpose might cause issues, but telling them and being ignored must be different?

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Multiplexer 5 points 7 months ago

I doubt the fun would last long for you...

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