If US border agents ever search your laptop or smartphone, they'll need to do so on legitimate suspicions otherwise they're violating the Constitution, according to a federal judge.

On Tuesday, a US District Court ruled that US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), along with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), cannot search electronic devices at the border unless they have "reasonable suspicions" they contain contraband.

The ruling was the result of a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation on behalf of 10 US citizens and one permanent resident who had their electronic devices taken in searches while entering the country.

Under current CBP rules, an agent at a port of entry or airport can conduct a "basic search" of electronic devices with or without suspicion. Agents can also hold on to the device if they fail to complete an inspection.

But according to US District Judge Denise Casper, the policy violates the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable search and seizures. Today's electronic devices, such as smartphones, she said, contain a wealth of personal information, including photos, contacts, and digital records.

"The potential level of intrusion from a search of a person's electronic devices simply has no easy comparison to non-digital searches," she said in her ruling, adding: "The fact that someone could have tucked a paper bank statement in a pocket does not justify a search of every bank statement from the last five years."

As a result, Casper ruled that border agents will have to justify the searches based on "specific and articulable facts" that an electronic device contains contraband.

Both the ACLU and the EFF hailed the decision as a major victory for privacy rights. "This ruling significantly advances Fourth Amendment protections for the millions of international travelers who enter the United States every year," said ACLU staff attorney Esha Bhandari in a statement. "By putting an end to the government's ability to conduct suspicionless fishing expeditions, the court reaffirms that the border is not a lawless place and that we don't lose our privacy rights when we travel."

Whether the US government will try to appeal is unknown. A spokesperson for CBP declined to comment on the ruling. However, the agency pointed out that the vast majority of travelers entering the US never experience a device search.

"In Fiscal Year 2019, CBP processed more than 414 million travelers at US ports of entry. During that same period of time, CBP conducted 40,913 border searches of electronic devices, representing less than .01 percent of arriving international travelers," CBP's spokesperson said.

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