Canadian Arrested After Refusing To Give Phone Passcode To Border Agent

Earlier this week, a Canadian man was taken into custody by border agents after entering the country on an international flight from the Dominican Republic. Was he carrying prohibited items in his baggage, or maybe didn't have his travel documents in order? No, he merely refused to give up the passcode to his smartphone when stopped by agents for a search, on the grounds that the information was "personal." In what may set a legal precedent, this is Canada's first case in charging a citizen for refusing to provide their phone's passcode.

Alain Philippon, of Quebec, has already been released on bail, but faces a fine from $1,000 to $25,000, with the possibility of up to one year in jail. With a trial scheduled for mid-May, he says he will be fighting the charges.

He is being charged under Canada's Customs Act for "hindering or preventing border officers from performing their role." The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has declined to say why Philippon was selected for a search or why they wanted to get into his smartphone. One Canadian legal expert notes that due to customs officials' wide-ranging powers, there is a reduced expectation of privacy, as they are allowed to inspect just about any item a traveler is carrying.

It's unclear at this point if the law will come down on Philippon's side. The case is sure to be watched by privacy advocates, and it seems to be in line with Canada's Supreme Court ruling in December that allows phone searches without a warrant in a limited scope. While the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that police need warrants to search a suspect's phone, and that passcodes are protected by the Fifth Amendment, it remains to be seen how such rules will be held up at borders, where concerns of "national security" often seem to outweigh everything else.

SOURCE CBC News