The question of whether police are legally allowed to force a person to unlock his or her phone in the course of an investigation came to the public’s attention in 2013, when Apple announced the feature would soon accompany its next iPhone. What right the public had to refuse to unlock their phone when a law enforcement official asked was a gray area for some months, but following several precedents, it appears that, at least for now, judges are siding with police.
Can the police force people to unlock their phones via fingerprint?
Answer: yes
The issue of privacy versus security rears its head with the introduction of every new technology — and biometrically locked phones were no different.
The question of whether police are legally allowed to force a person to unlock his or her phone in the course of an investigation came to the public’s attention in 2013, when Apple announced the feature would soon accompany its next iPhone. What right the public had to refuse to unlock their phone when a law enforcement official asked was a gray area for some months, but following several precedents, it appears that, at least for now, judges are siding with police.
The question of whether police are legally allowed to force a person to unlock his or her phone in the course of an investigation came to the public’s attention in 2013, when Apple announced the feature would soon accompany its next iPhone. What right the public had to refuse to unlock their phone when a law enforcement official asked was a gray area for some months, but following several precedents, it appears that, at least for now, judges are siding with police.
