Mon Jan 1, 0001

Mail Scanning, Package Tracking, and Customs

USPS

Informed Delivery (launched nationally 2017)

USPS photographs exterior of every letter-sized mailpiece processed through automation — approximately 150 billion images per year. Shows sender/recipient names, addresses, postmarks. USPS retains images; provides to law enforcement via mail covers and subpoenas.

Mail Covers (39 CFR 233.3)

Postal inspectors authorize recording of all information on outside of mail to/from a target. No warrant or court order required — only postal inspector approval. Duration: 30 days, renewable to 120 days. NYT (2014): ~50,000 mail cover requests per year (USPS OIG data). 2014 OIG audit: inadequate oversight and record-keeping.

Legality upheld under theory that exterior information carries no reasonable expectation of privacy (same logic as Smith v. Maryland pen register).

iCOP (Internet Covert Operations Program)

Revealed publicly April 2021 (Yahoo News). USPS postal inspectors monitored social media (Parler, Telegram, Facebook) for potential threats. Legal authority: 18 U.S.C. 3061 (postal inspector powers). Congressional inquiries followed; not shut down.

Court Cases

United States v. Warshak, 631 F.3d 266 (6th Cir. 2010): email requires warrant but distinguished exterior mail information.

Private Carriers (UPS, FedEx, Amazon)

Data Collected

Sender/recipient names and addresses, package weight, dimensions, contents descriptions, origin/destination, timestamps at every scan point, GPS from driver devices.

Retention

  • UPS: up to 18 months (per Tariff/Terms of Service)
  • FedEx: at least 2 years
  • Amazon: indefinitely (per privacy policy)

UPS My Choice / FedEx Delivery Manager

Send notifications when packages scanned — user receives alerts about incoming packages they didn’t initiate.

Law Enforcement Access

Under third-party doctrine (Smith v. Maryland, Miller), package tracking data shared with carriers historically requires only a subpoena, not a warrant. No circuit court has extended Carpenter to package tracking specifically.

Customs and Package Scrutiny

Border Search Exception

United States v. Ramsey, 431 U.S. 606 (1977): CBP may search international mail/ packages at border without warrant or probable cause. First-class letter mail requires reasonable suspicion (19 U.S.C. 482); packages have no such protection.

De Minimis Threshold (19 U.S.C. 1321, 19 CFR 10.151)

Imports valued $800 or below enter duty-free with minimal review (“Section 321”). FY2023: CBP processed over 1 billion de minimis shipments (up from ~140 million in FY2019, driven by Shein/Temu shipping from China).

Proposed and Enacted Changes

  • IMPORT Security Act (introduced June 2023)
  • De Minimis Reciprocity Act (2024)
  • Executive Order (April 2025): eliminated de minimis for China/Hong Kong imports, effective May 2, 2025. All such packages now require formal customs entry with declarations, duties, record-keeping.

Customs Records

Every formal entry creates permanent CBP record: importer identity, item descriptions, value, country of origin, HTS codes. Retained in Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), accessible to law enforcement via Treasury Enforcement Communications System (TECS).

Sources

  • 39 CFR 233.3
  • NYT (2014) on mail covers
  • Yahoo News (April 2021) on iCOP
  • United States v. Ramsey, 431 U.S. 606 (1977)
  • United States v. Warshak, 631 F.3d 266 (6th Cir. 2010)
  • 19 U.S.C. 1321, 19 CFR 10.151