US police can’t force you to unlock your phone with fingerprints or face recognition

US police can’t force you to unlock your phone with fingerprints or face recognition

5 years ago
Anonymous $Dftgs0JzgE

https://thenextweb.com/us/2019/01/15/us-police-cant-force-you-to-unlock-your-phone-with-fingerprints-or-face-recognition/

Last Friday, Judge Kandis Westmore ruled in a US federal court in California that police cannot compel suspects to unlock their phones using biometrics like face recognition, iris scans, or fingerprints, as that would be in violation of their Fifth Amendment protections against self-incrimination.

Westmore issued the order while reviewing a case involving extortion by two suspects who threatened to release embarrassing videos of their victims. She noted that “Testimony is not restricted to verbal or written communications,” and that “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.”