Cops Can Force You To Unlock Phone With Apple Touch ID, Judge Rules
Cops can't make you give them your smartphone password -- but they
can compel you to slap your finger onto your Apple Touch ID device to
unlock it, a Virginia court ruled Thursday.
It's
an odd sort of loophole: The Fifth Amendment protects you from offering
knowledge that could incriminate yourself, meaning you don't have to
tell a cop your phone's password if he or she asks you for it. But you
can be required to turn over physical evidence or DNA information. In
the Virginia case, the judge ruled that a fingerprint is considered a physical object -- and police are allowed to force you to give it to them.
Apple's Touch ID
lets you unlock your iPhone or iPad with your fingerprint, saving you
the trouble of typing in a password. The feature made its debut last year and is available on the iPhone 5S, iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, iPad Air 2, and iPad Mini 3.
