WASHINGTON, DC – Congress has proposed legislation that would end the US Customs' and Homeland Security's right to seize laptops, phones, cameras and other electronics when US nationals enter the country.
 
Bills introduced last week by Sen. Russell Feingold (D-WI) and Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) provide traditional legal citizen protections to residents crossing borders back into the US, including standards of probable cause before electronics equipment can be searched, and require warrants for search and seizure.
 
Customs currently does not need suspicion of wrongdoing to search or seize electronics. Many victims of searches claim racial profiling.
 
In its defense, Customs asserts only 40 laptops were searched out of 17 million travelers over a two-week period, and not all of those were prevented from entering the country. However, the situation has been troubling enough warrant attention from Congress.

STAMFORD, CT – Gartner lowered its 2008 forecast for Asia/Pacific semiconductor growth from 6.4% to 5.2% on an annual basis, as a result of the global economic environment and poor consumer confidence.
 
However, the firm says emerging markets in India and Vietnam are experiencing higher growth compared to the slowing China/Hong Kong region. 
 
"In the coming months, we expect to see signs of a widespread slowdown in the electronics sector, which in turn will have a direct negative impact on semiconductor sales," Gartner analysts said. The firm forecasts the region’s semiconductor revenue to grow from $149.3 billion in 2007 to $157.1 billion in 2008.
 
Gartner projects the CAGR of the China/Hong Kong semiconductor market from 2007 through 2012 will be 7.1%. China/Hong Kong will account for around 61.1% of the total semiconductor market in 2008, the researcher said.
 
Although, Gartner said it expects India and the Other Asia/Pacific to achieve higher CAGRs of 19.1% and 18.7%, respectively.
 
Gartner analysts say South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore are forecast to see continued falls in their semiconductor consumption revenue.