- The Fourth Circuit ruled that manual phone searches at U.S. borders, like Dulles, are routine under the Fourth Amendment, requiring no warrant, suspicion, or explanation.
- The case involved a two-minute manual scroll of a traveler's phone that revealed illegal content, and the court deemed this search routine.
- Manual searches (thumb-scrolling) are distinguished from forensic searches (software extraction), which still require individualized suspicion or a warrant.
- Every federal circuit addressing manual border device searches has concluded that no individualized suspicion is needed.
- Critics argue the ruling allows invasive searches of photos, texts, and apps without any wrongdoing suspicion, equating a phone to a physical item like luggage.
- The court did not define a clear time threshold for when a prolonged manual search becomes non-routine, leaving ambiguity for future litigation.
- Until a Supreme Court decision on border device searches exists, the ruling advises travelers to use clean phones and minimize data to protect privacy.