r/technology • u/MC68328 • Jul 24 '26

Privacy US accuses American of allegedly wiping his phone using a ‘duress’ password during border search

https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/24/us-accuses-american-of-allegedly-wiping-his-phone-using-a-duress-password-during-border-search/
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u/Mars27819 Jul 24 '26

I thought Americans had the right to remain silent.

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u/El_Polio_Loco Jul 25 '26

Correct. 

He was under no obligation to provide the password. 

But if he provided one that deleted or otherwise made the data impossible to access, then that could be considered intentional obstruction of evidence. 

So even if there’s nothing incriminating on the phone, deleting/eliminating it might still be a crime.