We’ll make a departure from the usual glitzy and glamorous world of travel this week to highlight a problem which has been worrying business travellers - Australians as much as any other nationality.
Our friends at the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) report welcome news that the issue of business travellers' laptops being seized by US Customs has gone all the way to the US Congress.
 Maybe “seizure” would be better described as “temporary confiscation” but the problem is no less sensitive.
The bottom line is, what assurance does the travelling public have regarding the disposition of seized hardware and data now and what recourse do they have for retrieving it?
The simple answer (at the moment) is “absolutely none”.
It simply disappears into the bowels of the US Government, the ACTE advises.
They are seeking major changes and concessions in procedures.
“The issue is how can the government ensure the integrity of seized information once it is determined that no criminal activity exists,'' an ACTE spokeswoman said.
They want a committee to seek a privacy impact assessment from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on the number of laptop and other electronic devices seized, along with statements regarding the cause of the seizures, and the minimum and maximum amount of time it should take to return the device to its owner. They also want published policies for protecting the integrity of all data.
“These would list how and where the data will be stored, other agencies that could have access to it, the circumstances that would allow other agencies to access it, and how that information would be destroyed,'' the spokeswoman said.
The organisation represents companies with hundreds of thousands of business travellers in the air on any given day. Millions cross US borders every year.
“All carry electronic devices and all are currently subject to the claimed authority of DHS officials to inspect and seize these electronic devices without suspicion or warrant," the ACTE said. They argue laptops and other devices should not be construed as mere baggage subject to inspection.
“In today's wired, networked and borderless world, one's office no longer sits within four walls or a cubicle; rather, one's office consists of a collection of mobile electronic devices,'' they said.
“Under the US Constitution, a warrant is needed to search a physical space, such as an office.
“Yet, the unanticipated seizure of one's mobile office has been allowed to occur and can immediately deprive an executive or company of the very data and revenue a business trip was intended to create."
In other words, laptop seizure can effectively lock executives out of their virtual offices and even threaten their professional standing.
A survey of ACTE members earlier this year found many who believed just having a laptop seized could cast doubt on a traveller's character.
Clearly, the ACTE focus is the US but as we have thousands of Australian business travellers over that way every year the message is relevant here too.
We'll keep you posted on future developments.
Meantime, ask the same questions of officialdom here. | 
