10mo ago

Cops can force suspect to unlock phone with thumbprint, US court rules

arstechnica.com Cops can force suspect to unlock phone with thumbprint, US court rules

Ruling: Thumbprint scan is like a "blood draw or fingerprint taken at booking."

The legal situation is more complex and nuanced than the headline implies, so the article is worth reading. This adds another ruling to the confusing case history regarding forced biometric unlocking.

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121 comments

Eh, I never stopped using a password for this exact reason.
- I think this solution is way too impractical for most people, who tend to unlock their phone many times a day.
  
  Yeah, that's the cost of good security practices. You always sacrifice convenience.
  
  I wish I could have a fingerprint and a pin with a limited number of attempts. Plus a password after like three failed pin attempts. I think that would be a pretty good balance between security and convenience.
  
  I mean, it is annoying. But it's security. Don't want people having access to your device, remove all possibility someone CAN.
  But it is annoying, we shouldn't HAVE to do this. Privacy should be baked right into our daily lives and not clawed out with tired hands every chance we get.
  
  Yeah. The huge legal distinctions between different ways of unlocking a device seem absurd. Comprehensive privacy legislation would help.

121 comments