US judge: FBI needs permission to use lockscreen data

The FBI can’t just use information from a smartphone’s lock screen if it doesn’t have a court order to do so. That has been decided by a US judge in a case where information from a suspect’s lockscreen was used.

Ars Technica reports this on the basis of the rulings of an American judge in a case brought against Joseph Sam. He was arrested, after which his phone ended up in the hands of the FBI. He turned on the smartphone, and then took a picture of the lock screen. The lockscreen showed a contact named Streezy, and this was used as evidence in the case against Sam.

Sam’s lawyer objected to this, after which the judge in the case ruled that turning on the smartphone counts as searching it. And that requires a court order. As a result, the FBI is not allowed to use the information from the lockscreen in the case against Sam.

The FBI is also having trouble unlocking suspects’ smartphones. For example, the authorities have repeatedly asked Apple for help to unlock the iPhone of a terrorist suspect, but the company did not want to cooperate. The FBI recently criticized Apple’s policies. However, they managed to unlock the iPhone in question themselves.