And I could argue that my intent was to protect myself from identity theft, should my device be stolen. It's a reasonable explanation for having deleted the data.
I'd also argue that I could've purchased a completely new device immediately prior to travel and brought that along, with the intention of being able to say that the device had never contained information that I was trying to hide.
I think that part of the point is that they'd have to prove intent. It's easiest to prove if you refuse to unlock the device, harder to prove if you provide a destrutive password, harder still if you remove your passwords and keys before leaving, and essentially impossible if you have a device that never contained sensitive data in any form.
> [proving intent is] essentially impossible if you have a device that never contained sensitive data in any form.
I'd like to see a short story based on this premise: man is arrested and tried for crossing the border with a brand new phone, having left his usual phone at home. The prosecution argues that since he presumably usually keeps sensitive information on his phone, not copying that data to the phone he was carrying proves his intent to hide information from border police.
> he presumably usually keeps sensitive information
Wouldn't they have to argue that he was a person of interest for some time now. That they have records of him traveling two and from countries of interest. That he is on a watch list?
For the average Joe. I don't think this would get very far.
My response would be. "What sensitive information are you looking for?"
I was proposing a short fictional piece based on this premise -- not sure if you meant to respond to that specifically. In any case, it's speculative fiction: we put the story in a not-too-distant dystopian future where the laws and norms have changed just enough to make this plausible. I think it's more fun too if the protagonist actually doesn't have anything to hide, and is not suspected of any criminal activity before, during, or after his attempted border crossing.
I'd also argue that I could've purchased a completely new device immediately prior to travel and brought that along, with the intention of being able to say that the device had never contained information that I was trying to hide.
I think that part of the point is that they'd have to prove intent. It's easiest to prove if you refuse to unlock the device, harder to prove if you provide a destrutive password, harder still if you remove your passwords and keys before leaving, and essentially impossible if you have a device that never contained sensitive data in any form.