U.S. to restrict laptop searches at border

Given all the personal details that people store on digital devices, the decision by DHS to intensify border searches of laptops and other gadgets can give law enforcement officials far more revealing pictures of travelers than suitcase inspections at airports might yield. AP reports that that this has set off alarms among civil liberties groups and travelers’ advocates — and now among some members of Congress who hope to impose restrictions on the practice next year. They fear the government has crossed a sacred line by rummaging through electronic contact lists and confidential e-mail messages, trade secrets, and proprietary business files, financial and medical records and other deeply private information.