As the internet goes to more places and more people are connecting to the internet using their smartphones, we store almost anything on our handheld devices. To New Zealand, those data could be anything, including threats to the country.
For this reason, visitors to New Zealand could face a choice where they should give their smartphones' password or biometrics, or pay fines of up to NZ$5,000 (about $3,200) under New Zealand’s new Customs and Excise Act of 2018, which came into effect on October 1st.
The law authorizes government officials to demand “codes, passwords, and encryption keys” or other information required to access an electronic device. And as officials can conduct a full "digital strip searches', they are also allowed to remove or detain devices, and data contained in them can be "copied, reviewed, or evaluated" including by "cloning."
While the New Zealand Customs originally demanded that they can perform device searches without restrictions, lawmakers required that the officials should first have "reasonable cause to suspect" a device or its owner/carrier, before they can do a full digital strip searches.
New Zealand Customs explains on its website:
"Before an officer can search an e-device they must be able to point to facts or circumstances that provide a basis for suspecting that the person in possession of the device is involved in criminal offending."
"To make a more invasive search (detain and forensically examine a device) the threshold is reasonable cause to believe—which is a higher threshold. An officer must have a reasonable belief the device contains evidence of criminal offending."
"If we need to detain your device for further examination, an officer will explain this process to you."
Previously, New Zealand customs officials already had the legal power to seize and search smartphones and other digital devices, as do authorities in other countries. But New Zealand border officials said that the law here is the first to impose a penalty to those people who refuse to comply.
In a news release, spokesperson Terry Brown from New Zealand's Customs Department said that the new regulations would help improve border compliance, while assuring would-be tourists that "the traveling public is unlikely to notice much difference."
The spokesperson also said that the law was necessary as "the shift from paper-based systems to electronic systems has meant that the majority of prohibited material and documents are now stored electronically."
The law that applies to both foreigners who visit New Zealand, as well as the locals, quickly gained controversies as it intrudes privacy. Advocates have raised alarms because people store everything on their phones.
From personal life, work, emails, doctor records, and many more. People store absolutely everything on their smartphones. And this law allows the New Zealand customs to take and keep what they think necessary.
The New Zealand Council for Civil Liberties (CCL) described the law as a "grave invasion of personal privacy of both the person who owns the device and the people they have communicated with."
"Modern smartphones contain a large amount of highly sensitive private information including emails, letters, medical records, personal photos, and very personal photos," the chairman Thomas Beagle said in a statement.
"The reality of this law is that it gives Customs the power to take and force the unlock of peoples smartphones without justification or appeal -- and this is exactly what Customs has always wanted."
It is said that the number of electronic devices examined is "very low." Out of 14 million travelers risk assessed and processed in 2017, "only 537 devices were examined."