Defending Device Data

Defending Device Data

July 6, 2026 · 1h 12m

About this episode

The episode discusses the evolution of privacy laws in relation to modern technology and device searches at the US border with guest Nathan Freed Wessler from the ACLU.

Our Constitutional rights were written without any concept of modern technology such as cell phones and the internet. Much of our privacy laws are still geared towards the pre-digital age. Even though the internet is many decades old now, the era of traveling with smartphones and laptops is still relatively new and the laws around privacy have not kept up. Today I’ll be speaking with Nathan Freed Wessler from the ACLU about device searches, particularly at the US border. We’ll also talk about how cases relating to location tracking have evolved since the landmark Carpenter case that Nate successfully argued in front of the Supreme Court almost 10 years ago now. Interview Notes ACLU: https://aclu.org/ Nate Wessler: https://www.aclu.org/bios/nathan-freed-wessler My first interview with Nate: https://podcast.firewallsdontstopdragons.com/2022/08/01/now-place-left-to-hide/ ACLU facial recognition suit: https://reason.com/2026/06/11/aclu-sues-after-facial-recognition-falsely-identifies-florida-man-as-a-child-abductor/ Travel Insecurity: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/border-insecurity/ Further Info My book: https://fdsd.me/book My newsletter…

People in this episode

Host: Carey Parker

Guest: Nathan Freed Wessler

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: ACLU

Books & works: Carpenter case

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