Search and Seizure at the Border At the border, CBSA officers are authorized to search travellers and their belongings, including their baggage and electronic devices. They have the power to examine the contents of those devices, including personal files such as photos and email. Travellers have reduced expectations of privacy at the border, but as personal electronic devices have become more commonly used and their users' expertise has grown, many travellers have been trying to make sure that their information stays private by setting passwords and encrypting their devices. In 2015, CBSA officers' search and seizure powers were tested when a traveller from Quebec, Alain Philip-pon, was arrested for declining to share his BlackBerry password with customs officers. He was charged, under section 153.1 of the Customs Act, with hindering a customs officer, which carries a potential penalty of up to $25,000 and 12 months in prison. The case drew the attention of a legal specialist in this area: Rob Currie, the director of the Law and Tech-nology Institute at the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University, said border agents have an established legal right to search you or your bags at the border. But he said it's not clear whether they should be able to force a traveller to reveal a smartphone password. Currie said the charge against Philippon could fall down on that point. He said a charter challenge under Section 8 could be brought at trial. That section of the Canadian Char