New Zealand To Fine Travelers 5000 NZ Dollars

New Zealand: Traveling to New Zealand? Make sure to wipe out your smartphones before traveling.

Refusing to provide a password to customs officials can lead to a fine of 5000 New Zealand Dollars ($3243).

The civil liberties group on Thursday condemned it as a serious invasion of privacy, refusing the officials to provide the password for any electronic devices will lead to a fine according to a new law.

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The Law came in effect on 1^st October as an update to already existing 22 – year old customs legislation.

Not just that but the law allows the customs officials to copy data found on the searched devices.

New Zealand Council for Civil Liberties has said that the law allows the customs officials to force visitors to provide excess to their devices without giving any justification. The law does not give the visitors any legal option to challenge the order to enter the password.

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Modern smartphones contain highly sensitive personal and private data which may include emails, letters, personal photos etc., allowing the customs officials excess to such personal information is a grave invasion of privacy, said the council spokesman Thomas Beagle in his statement.

Beagle probed if the invasion would help in catching the criminals, who would choose to pay the fine rather than uncover evidence leading to prison.

Criminals could also store their data in the cloud, or simply travel with no data in the phone as the data can easily once they passed customs, he said.