Feds Can't Force You To Unlock Your iPhone With Finger Or Face, Judge Rules

guest · Jan 14, 2019

Feds Can't Force You To Unlock Your iPhone With Finger Or Face, Judge Rules
January 14, 2019
https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...-your-iphone-with-finger-or-face-judge-rules/

Previously, U.S. judges had ruled that police were allowed to force unlock devices like Apple’s iPhone with biometrics, such as fingerprints, faces or irises. That was despite the fact feds weren’t permitted to force a suspect to divulge a passcode. But according to a ruling uncovered by Forbes, all logins are equal.

While the judge agreed that investigators had shown probable cause to search the property, they didn’t have the right to open all devices inside by forcing unlocks with biometric features.

But in a more significant part of the ruling, Judge Westmore declared that the government did not have the right, even with a warrant, to force suspects to incriminate themselves by unlocking their devices with their biological features.
Previously, courts had decided biometric features, unlike passcodes, were not “testimonial.”
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“If a person cannot be compelled to provide a passcode because it is a testimonial communication, a person cannot be compelled to provide one’s finger, thumb, iris, face, or other biometric feature to unlock that same device,” the judge wrote.

The magistrate judge decision could, of course, be overturned by a district court judge, as happened in Illinois in 2017 with a similar ruling. The best advice for anyone concerned about government overreach into their smartphones: Stick to a strong alphanumeric passcode that you won’t be compelled to disclose.
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Beyonder · Jan 14, 2019

I was about to get the champagne out, but it seems this will likely be appealed. Ultimately, I don't think we are going to win this fight

mirimir · Jan 15, 2019

Indeed. Winning the fight over passwords is also iffy.

guest · Apr 24, 2019

Yes, they can...
FYI: Yeah, the cops can force your finger onto a suspect's iPhone to see if it unlocks, says judge
Unsealed warrant in Massachusetts adds to growing privacy debate
April 24, 2019
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/04/24/judge_forced_fingertoiphone_unlock/

A US judge gave the cops permission to force people's fingers onto seized iPhones to see who could unlock them, a newly unsealed search warrant has revealed.

Specifically, Judge Judith Dein, of the federal district court of Massachusetts, gave agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) the right to press Robert Brito-Pina's fingers on any iPhone found in his apartment in Boston.
In fact, anyone nabbed at the property would be forced to use their fingers to unlock any cellphones seized at the home, according to the court filing.

In the 10-paragraph warrant, three are dedicated to the issue of unlocking the phone and note that the officers can choose which fingers to press on the device, including thumbs.
In seeking the judge's permission, ATF special agent Robert Jacobsen outlined in some detail why they believe the judge should allow them to try to force-unlock any phones found in the suspect's apartment.
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BriggsAndStratton · Apr 24, 2019

We should never have to hand over our passwords. I think this ruling goes in the right direction, and in the longterm, it will probably stand. If users become more about their privacy, it will definitely stand.

guest · May 10, 2019

Cops can’t force you unlock your phone with your fingerprint: judge
May 10, 2019
https://www.fastcompany.com/9034801...unlock-your-phone-with-your-fingerprint-judge

An Idaho federal magistrate judge refused to issue a search warrant forcing someone accused of having child pornography to unlock their cellphone with a fingerprint.

The ruling, [...] Using a fingerprint to unlock a Google Pixel 3 XL phone seized in a search of the person’s home would effectively force them to testify about their ownership of the phone, Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald Bush wrote.
“In sum, what the Government would characterize as innocuous is instead a potentially self-incriminating testimonial communication because it involves the compelled use of biometrics — unique to the individual — to unlock the phone,” he wrote. “The Fifth Amendment does not permit such a result.”

Other judges have also denied law enforcement requests to unlock phones with fingerprints and facial scans, citing similar logic, Forbes reports.
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Palancar · May 14, 2019

mood said: ↑

Cops can’t force you unlock your phone with your fingerprint: judge
May 10, 2019
https://www.fastcompany.com/9034801...unlock-your-phone-with-your-fingerprint-judge
Click to expand...

The issue with biometrics is that half the judges block such requests and the other half compel defendants. I would feel better refusing to submit a password than a biometric. I know the password is more secure but I am not talking about security here. I feel there is a better 5th amendment case for passwords. I click off my biometrics and go in Lockdown mode when I am in a suspect "place" or if I see LE coming for any reason.

guest · Aug 31, 2019

Judge rules against forcing suspects to unlock phones with Touch ID or Face ID
US Magistrate Judge Virginia Demarchi is the latest to rule against forced use of biometrics by law enforcement
August 31, 2019
https://appleinsider.com/articles/1...cts-to-unlock-phones-with-touch-id-or-face-id

US Magistrate Judge Virginia Demarchi, of the Northern District of California, has ruled that unlocking a device such as an iPhone is "inherently testimonial." She said it amounted to forcing incriminating testimony from an individual.

"Here, compelling an individual who is a target of the investigation to use his or her finger or face to unlock a device represents incriminating testimony within the meaning of the Fifth Amendment," she said. Judge Demarchi also addressed the fact that law enforcement bodies are now repeatedly arguing a case that such unlocking is required.

In her ruling, Judge Demarchi explained that such unlocking using biometrics implies certain points that are the equivalent of providing testimony.

"Because it amounts to an assertion of fact that the individual has the ability to unlock the device," she said, "which in turn makes it more like that the individual locked the device and put the material sought by the warrant on the device."
Judge Demarchi's follows a similar case in Idaho in May this year and another California ruling in January.
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