Well if the government have sufficient grounds to look through your Laptop/Computer they can do that. But if it is just random checks on people, don't they have to warn the public that there will be random checks on peoples data in their computer?
If they have a reason for doing it then i would vote Yes, but if it just at random with no warning that they are going to check your Laptop/Computer then i would have to say No.

How easy is to loose perspective. How fast we are willing to give away freedom and privacy.

Customs used to mean taxes or duties at the border. Either if you came by ship, plane or walking. In order to collect those duties related to certain items, of course, some checking points were created, with the authority to search randomly among your traveling possessions, in order to verify that the right tax was collected.
For obvious reasons some items were confiscated for the immediate danger, e.g. ( guns, bazookas, grenades, and such ) and also for the illegality[1] of it, e.g. ( not buying from proper places subject to taxes; not obtaining proper permissions by paying on it ).

Drugs came along and the powers of customs officers were increased to confiscate these too and arrest the carrier. Since they were searching already, why not to search for these too; after all, no one wants drugs to come to the country, right? Fair enough.

Terrorism became a "buzz word" in security and things has dramatically changed.
The rest is present.
However, I keep wondering, how little is security, and government with our best interest in mind ( I chuckle ), and how much is government's opportunity to control and do those actions that a little ago wasn't possible for it to do.
Now, I ask you. What grounds are you talking about?


[1] Illegality comes down to whom you pay the money.

I remember when 1984 rolled around, so many people were saying .. "Orwell had it wrong, it didn't happen." These people are saying the same thing today.

In the name of homeland security, hand over your thumb drive!

I think you have some real good points Aia! Put up a stout fight for privacy, I might visit you in jail later.

I definitely think it's going too far, but I can understand situations where it might become necessary. How bout this...the gov't needs a WARRANT to search your hard drive? How bout that, the creation of a whole new search warrant for electronic devices. They'll probably get misused, but I do think it's interesting that we've been able to snag rapists, etc via internet stings.

A new search warrant for electronic devices?
We need to really educate the members of our judicial system then, or let a computer issue the warrant after answering three simple random questions.

IMHO: If you want privacy, hide in a cave.

Sometimes privacy is simply a luxury and has to suffer to protect the population as a whole.

OK. So if a terrorist walks through security with a 9mm pistol in a shoulder holster but not wearing a coat it's in plain sight and the thing is confiscated (and he is arrested).
If he has it in his bag (which under your rules can't be X-rayed because that's designed to make things that are not in plain sight visible...) he can take it with him on the aircraft and shoot up the cabin.

Unintended consequences of your proposed policy maybe, but quite serious...

Yeah, there should be something that makes the government official obligated to search through the laptop/computer. We definitely need some racial profiling in these cases.. If some white dude dressed up in a business suit walks in with a laptop, then let him go through without checking it. But, if some muslim dude comes up wearing a towel on his head, then they should definitely confiscate his laptop and search through it for suspicious material.

Hell, I'd much rather them spend more time checking us when boarding an airplane than have some airplane go through my house or work! We must sometimes choose between freedom and security.. Here, I make the exception to forfeit my freedom and allow for searches.. If you have something you don't want others to see, then be smart about it! Encrypt it, hide it, or best of all.. don't bring it on an airplane!

My question is, why is it necessary to check for child pornography on laptops in airports? I could understand checking for marijuana if your plane came back from Colombia, etc. but since when does child pornography need to be physically transported in order to get it to the United States? Wouldn't it usually be done electronically over the internet? No one goes to the Philippines just to get such pictures, put them on the computer, and take them back to the United States. Not that I would have anything to hide, but I still consider it an invasion of privacy for reasons already mentioned. (By the way, a warrant isn't needed for a moveable scene of crime, whoever it was that said a warrant was needed to check your briefcase. Only suspicion is needed. Terry v. Ohio even stretched that a bit)