"I read the nyt about this. Apparently, it is about timing. If he erased it before he boarded the plane, no crime. But once he was aware they were seeking evidence, his giving the duress code was "destroying evidence", which is clearly a crime.

The article seemed to indicate that "reasonable search and seizure" had been adjudicated in the past with respect to customs and border agents. But that might be his only out in this case: claiming it violated his rights under the Fourth."

Couple of thoughts:

1. The government considers people trying to enter the U.S. to still be outside the U.S. so the government argues that constitutional protections do not apply (i.e. they do not need a search warrant). I would then also ask then how do U.S. laws apply? How can the U.S. government charge a person with destroying evidence when he is not yet in U.S. jurisdiction?

2. What would be interesting is using a phone operating system and code that would delete personal data on the phone (like this person here had) but then cross the border with zero personal data on the phone. So when the border guard asks for the pin you give it to them and the phone deletes everything/nothing. How can they charge him with destroying evidence when nothing was destroyed? I guess this is a long roundabout way of asking, doesn't the government have to actually prove something was destroyed?