Customs and Border Protection

An Oscar and Emmy nominated filmmaker and journalist said she was detained by the Department of Homeland Security when trying to re-enter the United States last week after traveling in Great Britain, renewing the legal debate over electronic device searches at U.S. borders and their implications for newsgathering.

Curious about travel records the government keeps on him and others, reporter Sean O'Neill published the findings of his Freedom of Information Act request for information that airlines hand over to the Department of Homeland Security.

He learned that the feds hang onto the Internet IP addresses that identify your computer when you purchase a ticket online. Airlines have electronically turned this information over to Customs and Border Protection since 2002.