Judge Rules That Feds Can't Force a Person to Unlock Their Phones

Judge Rules That Feds
Can't Force a Person to
Unlock Their Phone The ruling of the California
judge could turn out to be
a landmark decision. It states that police cannot
force people to unlock
their smartphones with
their finger or their face. Previously, these biometrics
were deemed allowable by U.S. judges. The previous rulings
did not consider a
biometric unlocking
of a phone "testimony," and therefore
wasn't granted Fifth
Amendment protections. In making the ruling,
the judge compared
unlocking a phone using
biometrics to the The judge ruled that making
someone unlock a phone with
a finger or face was "testimonial" granting it Fifth
Amendment protections. The ruling has the
potential to be overturned.