A court in Minnesota just ruled that you can be forced to unlock your phone with a fingerprint if you are the subject of a police encounter.

In recent years, cases across the US have fallen into two camps: 

Phones protected by fingerprint locks

And phones protected by passcode locks. 

Basically it comes down to this:  Courts have found that forcing a person to provide a fingerprint does not violate the Fifth Amendment, but forcing a person to provide a passcode does.

It has to do with the fact that the passcode is in your head. 

The Story:

 The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that a judge’s order requiring a man to provide a fingerprint to unlock his cellphone was constitutional, a finding that is in line with similar rulings across the U.S.

The decision comes in the case of Matthew Diamond, who wanted his burglary and theft convictions overturned in connection with a 2014 robbery in Chaska.

Diamond’s attorney argued that the district court violated Diamond’s Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination by ordering him to provide his fingerprint to access information on his phone. Police found incriminating evidence on the cellphone after it was unlocked.

This was the first time the Minnesota Court of Appeals has dealt with this issue, but it has come up in other states and federal courts.

In deciding this case, the appeals court examined whether the act of providing a fingerprint to unlock a cellphone is “testimonial communication.” The judges found that providing a fingerprint is not the same as forcing a defendant to testify against himself. They found it was also not the same as asking a defendant to provide information to decrypt a computer. 

The Takeaway

 If you're the subject of a police encounter of any kind, reboot your device immediately. 

Your phone is your property and you should be able to protect it. It has your information on it and possibly access to your cryptocurrency. 

With an iPhone:

Holding the home and power button at the same time for several seconds.Rebooting will clear the fingerprint authorization until you enter your password. Alternatively, you can use the wrong finger. Too many failures (3 to 5) will also trigger the password entry. 

With an Android: 

To force reboot on Android, press and hold the power button and the volume down key for 5 seconds and the screen will shut down. Release the buttons once the screen lights up. This will bring up a password prompt to access the phone. Additionally android phones can be erased remotely if necessary (use a Google account).

Make sure to check your settings so that your phone does reboot with a passcode prompt. It should, but check anyway. 😉

Source: twincities.com

Pics: pexels.com