US police may require fingerprints to unlock smartphone or tablet

The judge has allowed US police to use suspects’ fingerprints to unlock smartphones or tablets. The local court, on the other hand, has ruled that suspects do not have to give up their PINs.

According to the judge, handing over a fingerprint is comparable to giving DNA and that is allowed by law. However, handing over a personal PIN code is considered illegal, because the suspect is then forced to testify against himself.

The judge ruled in a case about a man who allegedly tried to strangle his girlfriend. Video equipment that may have filmed the struggle between the couple hangs in the suspect’s bedroom, Pilot Online writes. The images may be on the man’s phone and prosecutors demanded that the suspect unlock his smartphone. According to the lawyer, issuing a PIN would be in violation of the Fifth Amendment, which gives suspects the right not to have to testify against themselves.

According to the suspect’s lawyer, it is possible that the smartphone has been encrypted in several ways. The police are currently still investigating. Thus, if unlocking the phone actually requires a PIN, the police will not be able to access the contents of the device. Prosecutors would consider appealing.