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You are here: MacNN Forums > News > Mac News > LA judge issued warrant to compel woman to unlock iPhone with Touch ID

LA judge issued warrant to compel woman to unlock iPhone with Touch ID
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May 2, 2016, 12:44 PM
 
The issue of law enforcement gaining access to data on a smartphone has resurfaced, after it was revealed a court ordered an individual to unlock an iPhone seized as evidence in an investigation, by using Touch ID. A Los Angeles court has issued a warrant to the FBI forcing a girlfriend of an Armenian gang member to use Touch ID on the iPhone in question, as it was believed her fingerprint was registered to the device and would provide access to data that could help an ongoing investigation into the gang member move onward.

The girlfriend, identified by the Los Angeles Times as Paytsar Bkhchadzhyan, was arrested for alleged identity theft, a charge she pleaded no contest to, and was sentenced on February 25. Court and jail record reveal that US Magistrate Judge Alicia Rosenberg granted the warrant approximately 45 minutes after Bkhchadzhyan was taken into custody, with a cybercrimes agent of the FBI taking her fingerprint later that day for use with the iPhone.

Few details about the case were revealed, such as why the iPhone needed to be unlocked, with many court documents filed under seal. The phone was seized from a residence in Glendale that was linked to Sevak Mesrobian, said to be a member of the Armenian Power gang. Assistant US Attorney Vicki Chou advised the search was part of an "ongoing probe."

The US Supreme Court contends that a phone protected by a fingerprint can be unlocked via a warrant to someone in custody, but the case has raided the issue of whether it should be permitted. University of Dayton law professor Susan Brenner suggests the problem is one of self incrimination, as it is likely the contents of the smartphone includes information relating to her. "By showing you opened the phone, you showed that you have control over it," argues Brenner. "It's the same as if she went home and pulled out paper documents – she produced it."

The opposing argument comes from Albert Gidari, director of privacy at Stanford Law School's Center for Internet and Society, who believes it may not be a violation of the Fifth Amendment. "Unlike disclosing passcodes, you are not compelled to speak or say what's 'in your mind' to law enforcement. 'Put your finger here' is not testimonial or self-incriminating."
     
DrSkywalker
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May 2, 2016, 12:51 PM
 
So if opening access with your finger is NOT self-incriminating, then what about a voice-activated lockout? I think the Stanford guy is a bit off there. And if not, then I'm switching to voice recognition systems!
     
Charles Martin
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May 2, 2016, 01:43 PM
 
I would love to learn more about these judges' rationale of how this is even remotely Constitutional. Over the next few years, the US is really going to have to clarify and codify a right to privacy if it wants to salvage what's left of that document.
Charles Martin
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just a poster
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May 2, 2016, 02:18 PM
 
Deport the gang member and girlfriend so the Feds don't use their crimes as an excuse to take away Americans' civil liberties. Oh yeah, and the Stanford people are more than a little confused in the brain.
     
prl99
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May 2, 2016, 02:40 PM
 
The article says they took her fingerprint, which I assume to mean they used their fingerprint scanner to record it. How is that going to open the iPhone? I know people say they can trick the TouchID sensor into using a non-alive-human's fingerprint but does this really work all the time?
     
SierraDragon
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May 2, 2016, 10:01 PM
 
It seems that forcing someone to use personal biology to release private information would be a Fifth Amendment violation. Especially since in all these instances the govt is by definition fishing.

The way around the 5th Amendment issues is the govt should be required to grant her immunity for any crime that phone data might link her to before she unlocks the phone.
     
sgs123
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May 3, 2016, 12:25 PM
 
Of course, what happens if the battery runs down or she shuts the phone off before applying her finger? At that point, the phone is going to require a passcode.
     
Steve Wilkinson
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May 3, 2016, 01:23 PM
 
Originally Posted by Charles Martin View Post
I would love to learn more about these judges' rationale of how this is even remotely Constitutional. Over the next few years, the US is really going to have to clarify and codify a right to privacy if it wants to salvage what's left of that document.
Charles, I've got a MA in Theology, and I can tell you exactly what will happen to the Constitution if a postmodern interpretational lens is used, as we've all been watching it play out for the last century or so in Biblical interpretation. 'What's left of it' won't matter, as it would actually be better if it didn't exist, because then they couldn't pretend it is in use!

tl;dr - you're not going to like it.

Originally Posted by sgs123 View Post
Of course, what happens if the battery runs down or she shuts the phone off before applying her finger? At that point, the phone is going to require a passcode.
Good point. Unless they use brute force, or a copy of the print or something, maybe the court systems are too slow for this to really matter? How often does it require the code reentry?
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sgs123
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May 3, 2016, 02:26 PM
 
The first unlock after a reboot requires a code. A code is also required before software upgrade of after some number of touch-id fails (which I've tripped with a wet finger).

Regarding theology: I think that if Jesus of Nazareth were to return tomorrow, he'd have approximately the same reaction to what's been done in his name as he did to the money changers in the temple.

(Of course asking these questions eventually got me kicked out of Sunday school)
     
Steve Wilkinson
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May 6, 2016, 07:12 PM
 
Originally Posted by sgs123 View Post
The first unlock after a reboot requires a code. A code is also required before software upgrade of after some number of touch-id fails (which I've tripped with a wet finger).
I was more thinking of a timeout, like after 5 days, it requires the code again. That would kind of fix this situation, as the courts would probably take longer than that.

Originally Posted by sgs123 View Post
Regarding theology: I think that if Jesus of Nazareth were to return tomorrow, he'd have approximately the same reaction to what's been done in his name as he did to the money changers in the temple. (Of course asking these questions eventually got me kicked out of Sunday school)
For sure. There has been a lot of bad stuff done in his name. But, also a lot of good! That's human nature. That's why the interpretational principles are *SO* critical (whether the Bible or the Constitution). If you can go postmodern on ANY text, you can make it say/mean just about anything.
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