Digital Smarts - Phone Lock Up

You should have a password set up to protect the information on your cell phone - that’s Digital Smarts 101. Until now, though, phone manufacturers like Apple and Google could unlock that code if given a court order. Now Apple has announced that the new operating system for iPhones, iOS 8, will not give the company access to passcode-protected phones, making it technologically impossible to comply with governmental requests. Google/Android is following suit, upsetting the FBI and other law enforcement agencies.

What measures can government agencies take to make someone unlock his or her phone? A defendant or witness can be held in contempt of court and jailed for failing to unlock a phone, but there is a possibility that the Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination could block such demands. Such a case will probably have to be settled by an appeals court or even travel as high as the Supreme Court. Interestingly enough, it appears that a giving a fingerprint isn’t considered testifying against yourself, making Apple’s fingerprint ID system just a way of the government collecting biometrics. Either way, this new policy takes the responsibility of corporations out of the equation. If you thought remembering your password was important before, it may now be even more difficult to get help opening your phone if you forget.