Privacy

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A place to discuss privacy and freedom in the digital world.

Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.

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Cops can force suspect to unlock phone with thumbprint, US court rules (arstechnica.com)

submitted 8 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

121 comments fedilink hide all child comments

The legal situation is more complex and nuanced than the headline implies, so the article is worth reading. This adds another ruling to the confusing case history regarding forced biometric unlocking.

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 8 months ago (1 children)

This may be the first time a federal ruling has been made but I don't know if it applies to state crimes. Many counties across the nation have ruled one way or another.

SCOTUS once ruled law enforcemeny cannot compel you to unlock a device at all and cannot access your phone without a warrant, but I don't know if that is current. Police can legally lie to you (and beat you with a $5 wrench and pronably get away with it in court).

They also have strong phone cracking packages despite FBI's lament about evidence locked away in seized devices.

Generally, do not consent to searches or cooperate without a lawyer present. Expect everything an officer tells you is intended to mislead. They will even lie in court to the judge.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 8 months ago

@[email protected]

First order of business: never enable the thumbprint lock on your phone.

Second order of business: never conduct any sensitive business or communication with a mobile phone.

Third order of business: use a very strong passphrase to lock your phone.

Fourth order of business: understand that all your phone calls and text messages are hoovered up into spook databases.