SAN FRANCISCO — Making bold new law on data privacy, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Friday that border agents may not perform forensic searches of travelers’ laptops and other electronic devices absent reasonable suspicion of illegal activity.

"A person’s digital life ought not be hijacked simply by crossing a border," Judge M. Margaret McKeown wrote for an 8-3 en banc court in U.S. v. Cotterman.