Australia Can Search Laptops, Phones for Porn

I think this is just a ploy for customs to pick up some free pr0n.

Like the Best Buy Geek Squad employee a while back?

It is just tough to deal all the different laws when you are doing international traveling.

One of my friend had his check-in bags searched and something were removed by our (US) customs while he was flying from Asia to Canada. Why his bags were searched? He was doing his transfer at the LAX (the bag was with the airline all the time during the transfer).

Similar story... people can be charged as drug trafficing in Thailand if somebody have a bag or bottole of poppy seeds... which may mean DEATH penality in Tailand...


Bring pron into middle-eastern countries can lead to a big problem too.

why is home-made for personal use nude pictures/video categorised as porn? And if I have 20 Giga of photos (which I do, and most ppl have way more than that), are they going to look at each photo to see if I have pornographic images? That's going to take a few days + invasion of privacy.

No normal person will have 20gigs of photos on their laptop.

I encrypt my home-made videos when I visit the middle east. I'm so dangerously at risk, since one of the participants of said videos is one of their own nationals.

Uh oh D:

What a ridiculous law. Australians just brought themselves into the war of the worlds. No longer shall they remain a peaceful country

1. He didn't say laptop. (although you probably wouldn't put your desktop through customs...)
2. I'm eldest of 4 children in my family. I manage all our computers and I have 22.7GB of family photos on my NAS.

Encryption is the best way to go. While you're at it encrypt your files all the way to your torrent connection.

when you travel, Set your computer as a server, if you need anything, access it.

FTP Rocks

...And the US TSA is any less draconian? As an Aussie, I am of two minds on this particular ruling. First, it will just irritate visitors more than the existing regs already do, and many will find it an 'invasion of privacy'. (its not, but that will be the perception) But second, do we Aussies need foreign visitors dragging in more porn into our country? It is a simple question on the arrival card, similar to the ones asking about foodstuffs, drugs, money, etc. Answer any of these wrong and face fines or possible jail time.

Most people don't bring porn into countries for anyone but themselves... it is a digital file on a computer, not a drug to get Australians hooked on, or do something that could cause disease or anything else malicious. It's something that is out of sight and out of mind.

Also in Australia it may be perfectly legal for the government to look at YOUR files that are personal. In the US, this is horridly invading to Americans. It depends. I guess it's ok for you... but I'm not going anywhere that I can't be left alone.

Well, the Aussies can do what they want with what comes into their country. Bottom line: They have that right IMO. This does however step WAY across my own personal line of tolerance, and therefore have removed this country from my list of visitation possibilities.
Shame the place looked good. Oh well.

I hate anyone that violates my privacy.

It really did look nice. I second that heartily.

Amazing. Australia is quickly turning into a restrictive nation not unlike the communist/fascist nations in the 30's.

They first ban a perfectly normal human feature (small breasts), then censor the internet, and then finally now, the Spanish Inquisition happening at every airport.

My incentive to visit Australia fades more day by day.

OK, your TSA claimed that I was hiding 'something' on a laptop, and please give them the password. There WAS no password. They then confiscated my laptop, never to be seen again. So, screw your 'right to privacy', mate... and with that attitude, we don't need you visiting anyway.

lol @ Tom's Hardware crowd already finding like 12 ways around this

Just another genius law that will piss off normal people while not achieving its goals because experts like us can immediately circumvent it

I know that censorship exists in a variety of forms in many countries. What puzles me is the emphasis on porn rather than safety and security.

They did not ban small breasts. They've done alot of stupid things but they did not ban small breasts.

the aussies can doi what they want to i just will never be a tourist in their country.
and i do not own any porn on my computer.it is just the thought that counts.
this is a bad ruling and no country is searching my personal photos.at least not in this way.

Australia is weird mate.

If everybody refused to visit countries where their governments did silly or stupid things, nobody would go anywhere. That applies to US(A) too. Back off on our mates from down under. You would be hard pressed to find better people.

Nobody is talking about the average person in Australia, they`re talking about the government.

While I don`t agree with the ruling I also don`t see it restricting my travel. I`m sure anyone that normally carries adult content with them can do without for a week or two...

Wtf!?

I can't tell if you are joking or not?

Sorry about that, just read about it.
They didn't ban women with small breasts from the country (which is the easy misinterpretation of your comment).

They apparently passed a pretty vague law about the depiction of women who have what appears to be an under developed body.
This resulted in women with less than A cup breasts pictured in adult magazines being banned.
If you are over 18, but have a young looking body, and upload an image of yourself to the internet you could be arrested.

I think a group of people in the Australian government are a bit obsessed with this whole porn thing.
An image or video of anything that is legal should be legal to own.

It's crazy that in these relatively enlightened times these kind of restrictive laws, all over the western world, are being passed.

i think its quite easy to put a partition that is not native to an os, and or use partitioning software to unmount and hide it, I doubt they have the proper tools nor the time to try and setup that partition and then find themselves not having the privilege or rights to access

cant really search something you cant see

and have that particular OS say linux on a cd or thumbdrive to boot

Heck, I couldn't leave my house if I refused to go anywhere a silly law existed.

so...are women with underdeveloped bodies forbidden to have sex too? I mean if you take their policy logically one step further, then such a woman would be guilty of child prostitution.

What you have to remember is that Australia is being run by religious zealots. I am an Australian national about to re-enter the country after being on holiday (using free internet at McDonalds in Dubai to type this actually). I have never heard of this, but I will know in a couple of days when I return. I personally like freedom of expression and also believe that censorship is for idiots, but also child porn and beastiality is just plain absusive and should be stopped. This solution (if true) seems like using a nuclear missile to swat a fly tho... typical for Australia.

That's GARAGE...I used to work for the TSA and they do NOT search laptops. If you're coming into this country and your laptop gets confiscated it's done by US Customs. ANY country’s custom's can confiscate your laptop. "Never to be seen again" they don't just confiscate laptops randomly they must have a reason. A friend of mine works for Customs and if they take your laptop you are given a TON of documents on where it will be, how to get it back, etc etc. You're blowing smoke dude. Australia customs can search your laptop for ANY reason they want. I really was planning a trip to Australia but no anymore.