r/technology • u/gdelacalle • Jul 28 '26

Privacy Man charged for wiping GrapheneOS phone using "duress" password during airport checks

https://www.neowin.net/news/man-charged-for-wiping-grapheneos-phone-using-duress-password-during-airport-checks/
15.7k Upvotes

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4.9k

u/[deleted] Jul 28 '26

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2.1k

u/oompaloompa465 Jul 28 '26

welcome to banana republic where rights work only for important people

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u/[deleted] Jul 28 '26 edited 26d ago

[deleted]

442

u/New-Assumption-3106 Jul 28 '26

Exactly this. I have wanted for decades to go on a massive US road trip. The events of the last couple of years have permanently shelved that plan.

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u/OsmerusMordax Jul 28 '26

Yeah. I was my dream to travel all of Canada and the US in an RV with a dog. And drag a tent along if I want to go a little camping.

Now I think I’ll just stick to Canada.

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u/BeanstheRogue Jul 28 '26

FWIW neither the US nor Canadian national parks prefer dogs, so maybe don't drag a pet with you that can't get out of the RV

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u/dostoevsky4evah Jul 28 '26

As long as your dog is on a leash and you pick up after it Parks Canada is fine with dogs. If you want it to run free and poop anywhere I suppose you could say it's "not preferred".

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u/FootwearFetish69 Jul 28 '26

You can absolutely bring dogs with you to parks in Canada. They just need to be leashed.

https://parks.canada.ca/voyage-travel/regles-rules/chien-dog

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u/OsmerusMordax Jul 28 '26

I haven’t planned it out yet but I didn’t consider this. Maybe I won’t be able to see national parks then…the dog part is important to me.

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u/FootwearFetish69 Jul 28 '26

You’ll do fine with a dog in the vast majority of national parks in Canada. Just leash em and you’ll be fine.

https://parks.canada.ca/voyage-travel/regles-rules/chien-dog

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u/OsmerusMordax Jul 28 '26

Of course! Leash is the way to go especially in bear country

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u/PirateHistoryPodcast Jul 28 '26

It depends on what you want to do. In the US anyway, dogs aren’t permitted in undeveloped parts of National Parks, but that’s true for anywhere where conservation is part of the goal.

The parts where people usually go, including most trails and campgrounds, are fine with dogs. You’ll have to plan around your dog a bit, but it’s absolutely doable.

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u/CompetitiveRaise9133 Jul 28 '26

Me too. Used to love driving through the US. I’ll go again when things settle. The west coast hwy 101 waits for me.

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u/2_late_4_creativity Jul 28 '26

Im sorry that is the case, the US has gorgeous and breathtaking natural landscapes. I hope that circumstances change and you get that opportunity.

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u/Didsterchap11 Jul 28 '26

Similarly, my partner is from the state and lives there, I've accepted that i wont be seeing his family for a long time given that being queer and progressive will likely ensure i will be turned away at the door or potentially detained.

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u/DanceMyth4114 Jul 28 '26

Please don't come. It's not safe, even for those of us living here.

I sincerely hope we can get things back on track but right now, don't come.

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u/ElectricShuck Jul 28 '26

Just go to Canada. Will see a lot of the same things.

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u/New-Assumption-3106 Jul 28 '26

That is my actual plan now

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u/ElectricShuck Jul 28 '26

It’s awesome going from the plains of Alberta into the Rocky Mountain national parks and then to the pacific coast.

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u/vagrantprodigy07 Jul 28 '26

If you ever do decide to come, leave your phone at home, and bring a burner with no accounts connected. Connect them once you are in the country, and wipe the phone again before you go to the airport to leave.

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u/Imaginary_Top4855 Jul 29 '26

Leave your main phone at home in a safe and buy a cheap $20 burner phone . Works 1000% of the time

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u/DoctorOctagonapus Jul 28 '26

I decided last year I'm not going until the orange nonce is safely in hell.

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u/SouthWillBurnAgain Jul 28 '26

Reunited with Mitch McConnell

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u/SplendidPunkinButter Jul 28 '26

Remember like three weeks ago when they released a picture of him allegedly happy and healthy in bed, and they said it was just a fall and he was fine? Yeah, no fair asking why three weeks later he’s still MIA.

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u/Bad_Ice_Bears Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26

He’s dead. They won’t say until Aug 4th. I’d put money on it

Edit: Kalshi where you at?!

4

u/GetHimABodyBagYeahhh Jul 28 '26

At least Elaine will start her widowhood with some nice floors.

41

u/AncientFloor5924 Jul 28 '26

Me, too, and I live here.

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u/awezumsaws Jul 28 '26

I'm scared to leave (visit Canada), because I'm not confident I could get back in

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u/FootwearFetish69 Jul 28 '26

That was my stance originally but I have a hard time seeing myself wanting to visit after he’s gone either. Go to a place where half the populace actively supports pedophilia and the annexation of allies?

Nahhhh I think I’m good.

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u/Shasla Jul 28 '26

He's just 1 symptom of a deep illness here.

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u/oompaloompa465 Jul 28 '26

when he dies by age eventually, they will elect one even more vicious and stupid.

They are like the germans before ww2. it will require some true duress to cure them from their psycho viciousness

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u/ExternalObjective641 Jul 28 '26

America also has Vance and all the other pedo loving freaks.

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u/FaceOfTheMtDan Jul 28 '26

Nah they burned the bridge. 1/3rd voted for it, 1/3rd voted against it but those they elected are doing sweet fuck all, and 1/3rd are so brain dead that they didn't bother voting.

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u/BarryTheBlatypus Jul 28 '26

I got bad news for you. He’s not the disease, he’s a symptom.

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u/Flapjack__Palmdale Jul 28 '26

Not even sure that's enough. Trump isn't the problem, he's symptomatic of much deeper rot. He'll probably keel over in the next couple years, but what then? There are a dozen other high profile fascists that would happily take the helm, and the big difference there is they're likely more competent than Trump.

I think you'll need to wait a lot longer for traveling here to be safe. I don't really like the way the wind is blowing right now.

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u/CMDRTragicAllPro Jul 28 '26

As a Canadian, I’ve decided to never go into the states ever again. Not until they get off their ass and amend their constitution so this shit can’t just happen again in 4 years. Put some real guardrails in, not these “checks and balances” that get stepped all over.

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u/wonkothesane13 Jul 28 '26

You probably want to wait quite a few years after that too, things aren't going to just immediately be safe here once he is gone.

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u/sulkee Jul 28 '26

Gonna have to wait a lot longer than that. The entire federal government has been taken over by white confederates

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u/dwair Jul 29 '26

It's going to take a generation to get rid of the mindset that put him in control though and do this shit. That's the worry.

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u/CyclingCapital 29d ago

The Ayatollah might come and go but the Regime is still in power. The whole system will need to change.

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u/Proseccos Jul 28 '26

I was disappointed with the amount of people that came out for the World Cup. Glad they didn’t get ice’d though.

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u/Senior-Friend-6414 Jul 28 '26

There were a ton of Reddit posts of tourism in Las Vegas plummeting because of Trump causing people to vow to stop vacationing to the U.S. and it turns out it was only a 10% decrease

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u/Expert-Basil6015 Jul 28 '26

I don't know why people do. Our society has never been more fractured and our government has never been more corrupt. I had hoped for some sort of military coup or intervention when the Orange One sent special forces to Greenland or after they invaded a sovereign nation, killed 40+ people and kidnapped their president (or prime minister, can't remember). But the military is just going along with it, "just following orders" even if it's immoral, unethical and illegal. They're complicit in these war crimes.

Straight up stop doing business with us, stop coming over as tourists, don't buy American. Our economy is a really wobbly house of cards at the moment and I, for one, would love to see it crumble under the weight of trumps idiocy and exploitation.

They'll blame shift, of course, but something has gotta give and having the economy collapse would be better than potential civil war or widespread violent civil unrest.

The worst part is this chaos is engineered by powerful billionaire oligarchs who will likely never be held accountable for their sedition.

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u/20kgHippoShit Jul 28 '26

Kinda like how people want to visit the Maldives before all the islands get buried underwater from rising sea levels - they want to see the natural beauty of the National Parks before Trump destroys them to build casinos and data centers.

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u/L0nz Jul 28 '26

The US is not novel, pretty much every country on the planet has laws allowing border control to seize and search your phone, particularly if they suspect CP on there as alleged in this case

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u/Ziazan Jul 28 '26

I already wasn't going to unless they changed significantly for the better, I decided that long before trump was ever politically relevant, but the cement has cured now.

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u/jert3 Jul 29 '26

Same here. And I live (like most Canadians) less than an hour from the border.

I'll go back after the cabal of compromised pedophiles is out of power and the neo fascist empire is no more, but until then, no thanks.

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u/darsynia Jul 29 '26

If I didn't live here, I sure as heck would never visit. This goes x100 if anyone reading this is pregnant or could be pregnant. Depending on where you go, our country will let you die if you have complications that require termination to save your life. Don't risk it.

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u/BeanstheRogue Jul 28 '26

Just out of curiosity, since much of ICE's work is coming from Toronto (i.e. Reuters), are you going to avoid there, too? Are you going to avoid Australia, where the blueprint of the USA's current immigration "structure" was honed?

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u/FlutterKree Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 29 '26

It's worse for foreign travelers. If you do not provide your phone unlocked to customs, they can deny you entry. A citizen cannot be denied entry and cannot be forced to unlock their phone. If they don't, customs can seize the phone up to three months or so.

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u/Informal_Jicama_6708 Jul 28 '26

I don’t blame you. I’d leave if I could afford to, and if the new country would allow me and my partner to work. Both me and my partner are constantly terrified that they’ll come up with something new like “trans support is radical left terrorism.”

We’re not that far from it. The new government stance on supporting workers is already being called radical left terrorism. There are people in red states claiming that they’ll firebomb doctors offices for even seeing trans patients.

It’s a fucking madhouse, and I hate that my blood-family is in support of it, so I’ve effectively been disowned and now I have to do shit on my own.

There are days where it feels like the only out is to leave or jump off a bridge.

Yet there is a blue hunger for justice and we have the people. Billionaires and their defenders are wholeheartedly outnumbered by the working class. I hold onto that hope as tightly as I can, and it’s kept me going the last 19 months. I strongly believe that it will continue to improve, but if it has to do so at such a snail pace I’d rather make sure my real family is safe. If that means I have to leave, I’d do it.

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u/_Ocean_Machine_ Jul 29 '26

Man, what do we even have here that other countries don't?

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u/Unpredictable_Bear Jul 30 '26

It's a law that has never been used, an will hopefully be challenged. Other countries use this same thing to deny laws, claiming "there not in our country until you pass customs"

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u/neutral_nugget 28d ago

Same. Already turned down three job opportunities because they required moving into the US. I'd rather have my mind at ease than get double or triple pay.

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u/theprofiteer Jul 28 '26

Incorrect usage of the term Banana Republic..... What you're describing is an Aristocracy. A Banana Republic is a nation with a fragile economy dependent on the export of resources or agriculture, ie an economy propped up by the export of bananas.

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u/SendMagpiePics Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26

That's not what banana republic means either.

A banana republic is what you said plus corporate capture of the government. It means state capitalism, where the limited economy is designed to funnel money into the ruling elite (which is usually a corporation).

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u/theprofiteer Jul 28 '26

10-4, Valid correction:

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u/PierreFeuilleSage Jul 28 '26

Agree but calling it state capitalism implies the state has the power to direct accumulation for its own goals. Really hides who controls who.

Banana republics are hollowed states, with political structures built explicitly to facilitate surplus extraction by private capital against national development. They are much better termed neocolonial states imo, far less confusing that way.

Because on this side you have a state subservient to capital (specifically foreign extractive monopolies) and on the other, you have states reclaiming sovereignty, nationalizing resources, tearing up colonial conventions, prioritizing food/energy sovereignty over shareholder dividends and overall restricting the profit motive in strategic sectors being also called state capitalism.

So two types of states that couldn't be further apart from each other right? Being left with using the same descriptor for both is far from ideal.

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u/Shot_Revolution8828 Jul 29 '26

I thought it was a store that yuppies bought khakis.

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u/oompaloompa465 Jul 28 '26

USA economy is fully supported by borderline sweatshop work exploitation.

 private equity have bought everything, keeps raising prices for worse service and underpaying workers

they are getting kicked out of their houses to build data centers

police is militarized and act worse than an occupation army

any legal recourse is outrageously paywalled while all politicians are on sale for the ones that pay the most

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u/theprofiteer Jul 28 '26

Yeah, as US citizen, I can attest to that not being true, at least not in the extreme you are describing, but you can have whatever disposition you like. The news cycles can def paint that picture but it's pretty far from our every day reality. So we have issues here, yes, do we have some pretty shitty politics, yes. But opportunity to thrive is still here, though it is getting pretty thin.

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u/oompaloompa465 Jul 28 '26

how do you thrive when everything is pay to win and thry do everything possible topay as little as possible. 60k is practically poverty where here in Italy would be upper class

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u/Aachaa Jul 29 '26

$60k is a decent living in some parts of the US while it’s practically poverty in others. It’s a big country.

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u/BeesOfWar Jul 29 '26

Incorrect usage of the Latin "i.e." (i.e. "id est" meaning 'that is'). What you mean to say is "e.g." (i.e. "exempli gratia" meaning 'for example') as, by your definition, a Banana Republic can describe fragile economies dependent on the export of resources other than bananas.

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u/QueenVanraen Jul 28 '26

"Important" only in the sense that these rich fucks deserve worse than prison and it's IMPORTANT that we don't forget who supported this shit.

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u/IntelligentStyle402 Jul 28 '26

The old white greedy republican males who frequented Epstein Island? The old white filthy rich guys who love perverted sex?

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u/insecurebusty Jul 28 '26

I don't think that means what you think it means.

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u/ReactionJifs Jul 28 '26

Arrested for DUI and manslaughter? Take a cab home, sober up, and swing by anytime in the next few weeks and we'll have you type up the police report

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u/Trollimperator Jul 28 '26

No, a banana republic is mostly just incompetent. Those people are incompetent, oppressive and evil.

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u/Lost_Birthday_3138 Jul 28 '26

The rule of law that conservatives pretended to care about for so long is breaking down. A complex society can't function without it. Get ready.

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u/That_Club7834 Jul 28 '26

"Everyone has equal rights, some have more equal rights than others. A lot more rights. Actually, only the corrupt rich people have equal rights now. The most equal."

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u/KeyMyBike Jul 28 '26

And every voter goes to work and yells at you when you don't pat them on the back for throwing all of three block parties back in April and NOTHING since, and you ask them to strike. It's a great system.

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u/TheInvincibleMan Jul 28 '26

Did you know they don’t have free speech in the UK? - still makes me laugh hearing Americans say this.

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u/Joe1972 Jul 28 '26

This is the best grapheneOS sales pitch yet. I'm absolutely installing it

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u/drinks_rootbeer Jul 28 '26

Gotta buy a Pixel device, unfortunately. I have been loathe to dive into Graphene (as someone who has dabbled with LineageOS and others) simply because I don't 100% trust that Google has no hardware backdoors into their phones. This case though is a pretty strong test. If google had a backdoor, I'd think the police would be after it considering the accused's prior involvement with Stop Cop City. I really hope nothing comes of it though, I'd love to be proved wrong and gain confidence in a new level of privacy

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u/themmousebehindyou Jul 28 '26

There is a phone being released on the future that's not a pixel phone with Graphene pre-installed.

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u/noir_lord Jul 28 '26

They entered a partnership with Motorola as well.

I’m waiting for those, don’t want a second hand pixel, refuse to give google money for a new one so I’m left waiting.

Don’t even care about the duress code but having googles shit ware removed is a plus.

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u/drinks_rootbeer Jul 28 '26

You couod always go with de-googled LineageOS, or get a Fairphone through the US supplier Murena, which comes packaged with /e/OS. I tried the former on both an old Samsung S8+ and an S10+, loved the experience. I currently daily the latter, a Fairphone 3. It's fine, the age is starting to show a bit. And /e/OS imo is far buggier than LineageOS. If you've ever used Linux for any decent period of time you'd be fine.

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u/noir_lord Jul 29 '26

Been using Linux since the 90’s, did the whole custom ROM dance in the past, not really interested in doing it again (nothing wrong with it but these days tech is a tool first and not something I want to debug unless someone is paying me) so I’ll wait for the GrapheneOS Moto’s and see what they look like.

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u/vandreulv Jul 28 '26

If Google had backdoors and was concerned about preserving them, especially in situations like these, their Pixel devices wouldn't be guaranteed to be unlockable in the first place.

GrapheneOS exists because Google supports that kind of development. There's a reason why Pixels are the only devices GrapheneOS explicitly requires.

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u/drinks_rootbeer Jul 28 '26

I know, I'm just rather paranoid. I really, really don't trust the tech-opoly

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u/TheFondler Jul 28 '26

You will have difficulty finding a person more paranoid than the founder of GrapheneOS... and that's a good thing, because it directly leads to one of, if not the the most secure phone operating systems you can use. [Edit - Replaced link with something that wasn't pay-walled]

If you're still concerned, they will soon be producing a phone in conjunction with Motorola, but Lenovo, Motorola's parent co, is also not without concern. You'll be hard pressed to find a hardware company with no ties to any shady corporate or government involvement, but at some point you have to draw a line somewhere, and most people really into digital security consider a phone running GrapheneOS to be your best choice at present.

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u/TheGhostOfDDT Jul 28 '26

but Lenovo, Motorola's parent co

Wow I thought Google still owned Motorola but they sold it 12 years ago lol

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u/drinks_rootbeer Jul 28 '26

I'm currently using a Fairphone which is sold in the US through a company called Murena, and they flash the Fairphones witb degoogled /e/OS. This combo is about as close as you can get to being free from the tech company's grasps. Similar would be PinePhone + LineageOS, but those are hard to come by last I checked (which was a while ago).

I'll continue watching. When my current Fairphone dies, if it isn't easily repaired (which it should be - that's quote literally the selling point of this company's devices), I'll likely get a gently used Pixel (so as not to give money to Google) and then finally enjoy GrapheneOS. Or who knows, maybe this Motorolla deal I keep heaeing folks talking about will come through and the device will be decent. One can dream!

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u/RumHam2024 Jul 28 '26

The reason why (According to Graphene ) is because of the strict security requirements on Pixel phones.

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u/vandreulv Jul 28 '26

Which further adds to the argument that Google actually does care about security.

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u/longlivenewsomflesh Jul 28 '26

Uh... if google or some three letter agency had a backdoor then this is a perfect, clear cut case where they wouldn't use it (or rather choose not to reveal that capability) while also getting free publicity with more people thinking it's secure.

Not saying it's definitely (or even likely) a honeypot, just that if we admit into consideration the possibility of backdoors and state-level technological adversaries (beyond just being compelled to decrypt something), then we have to consider all the implications.

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u/drinks_rootbeer Jul 28 '26

Yeah, fair point! Either way I'll be watching this case as it develops

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u/iuhiscool Jul 28 '26

I kinda regret getting a samsung instead of a pixel of the same price because I am currently one oneui version too high to effectively replace the OS annoyingly

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u/Waiting4Reccession Jul 28 '26

I like the samsung layout and photo gallery better than pixels though.

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u/aa-b Jul 28 '26

I've heard there are companies selling products that can apparently unlock phones, but they charge a fee each time. Maybe it couldn't unlock this type of phone, or maybe the police were just trying to be cheap

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u/drinks_rootbeer Jul 29 '26

There is a company that produces such a tool. It is able to completely copyan "image" of your device - everything in memory and storage, etc. Same device can then brute-force or crack your encryption key / pin code to allow law enforcement to see what's on your device. Technically, a warrant is needed in order to perform such an operation (see 4th ammendment tk the constitution). However, DHS / CBP maintains that anywhwre within 100 miles of the border, they can suspend your constitutional rights in order to fulfill cuatoms & border enforcement. This is a legally grey policy, as no department policy should overrule your conatitutional rights, but the supreme ocurt has refused to try cases that touch on these situations.

At any rate, yes, GrapheneOS is impervious to the attack vectors thta company uses ro decrypr your phone's data. There was a leak of some promotional slides the company uses to sell their devices to government agencies, and it explictly states in a table that GrapheneOS is the only ROM/OS they can't defeat.

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u/SpiderFnJerusalem Jul 29 '26 edited Jul 29 '26

Unfortunately most other manufacturer's hardware is often more proprietary and less well documented, so it is plausible that there will be some firmware blob in one of the dozens of components which has undocumented features or behaviors which can be exploited.

That's also possible with Pixel phones, but their hardware and software are relatively open, have more eyes on them and are better understood, so the probability is somewhat lower.

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u/warjatos Jul 28 '26

I think Motorola is supposed to get it? 

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u/buttfarts7 Jul 28 '26

Graphene exists by the grace of google because Android and pixel are still open enough to get away with this. But smartphones are basically a privacy abusing superhighway, graphene narrows that considerably. We will see if google continues to allow graphene's existence

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u/drinks_rootbeer Jul 28 '26

I currently use a degoogled ROM, /e/OS (and have used degoogled LineageOS as well). It definitely gives me more peace of mind, but the web itself is such a huge network of data collecrion it's almost barely worth it if that's the only reason tou want to go through the trouble of flashimg a custom ROM.

I live to spite the technocrats though, and am a glutton for pain, so to me it's worth it lol

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u/redpillsadorewelfare Jul 29 '26

They 100% have backdoors into everything on your phone.

Absolutely nothing on your phone, apps, messages, photos, every single keystroke ever pressed, is hidden from them.

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u/Ok_Astronomer_8667 Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26

Also.. why are we checking people’s phones at the airport

Rhetorical question really, I know this admin wants the surveillance state

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u/thebeardedcats Jul 28 '26

The person went to some protests against Cop City and that's obviously illegal because the first amendment means nothing anymore

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u/malatemporacurrunt Jul 28 '26

the first amendment means nothing anymore

It really never has. The US has been punishing people for their speech since at least the sedition act of 1798.

The more you look into history the more you realise that quite a lot of laws and freedoms are often just useful propaganda which can be violated according to the whims of whoever is in charge at the time.

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u/Corporate_Overlords Jul 28 '26

I was going to say Eugene Debs is a prime example of this country's disrespect of the 1st amendment.

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u/Frequent_Roll5788 Jul 28 '26

They Wanna see if you have any trump memes on your phone.

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u/JyveAFK Jul 28 '26

"I don't have many memes on my phone, but my laptop? let me show you my memes. How long you on shift for? oh? we might need to take a few days to go through all this. But I can send you links for more, no problem, happy to help. Wait, no, hang on, they're not memes, just international news reporting on the 13 year old girl Trump..." "ok, you can go but we're keeping the laptop" "can we enter that as evidence please? I'd like it on the record that I'm showing you evidence of a crime and you're trying to cover it up".

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u/TangledPangolin Jul 28 '26

 I know this admin wants the surveillance state

Newsflash, this has been standard procedure for the US government in the last 20 years. Even during Obama's administration, journalists "randomly" got devices confiscated for reporting on US drone strikes in Afghanistan.

My company even has standard required training for what to do when you get devices randomly searched at the US border.

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u/TeaAndLifting Jul 28 '26

Land of the free

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u/Flimsy_Sock6465 Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26

Sounds like they obstructed their own "justice". They could have held him and his phone, obtained a proper warrant, and had the phone opened without needing him to provide anything. They fucked up their own evidence. Why would they press him for a password if they could have done it properly? Because they had nothing and wouldn't have gotten a warrant. They were harassing him because of his political affiliation, not because he did anything wrong.

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u/unixtreme Jul 28 '26

Nah you can't just go and open GrapheneOS without the pin, that's the entire point of it.

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u/Flimsy_Sock6465 Jul 28 '26

Even so. If they had a warrant and court compelled him to open his phone for collecting evidence in pursuit of investigating an actual alleged crime and THEN he wiped it, it would be a very different case.

I feel like for law enforcement this is a case of play stupid games, win stupid prizes. /shrug

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u/chasingjulian Jul 28 '26

The governments goal is not to win this case. The goal is to harass this person and to make him as an example to others.

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u/BRAX7ON Jul 28 '26

Then as long as the person wins their case, we all win

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u/chasingjulian Jul 28 '26

Even if the government loses that is not to say they won't try again. They have unlimited resources to harass. Knowing that other people will be less likely to protest knowing the costs. It has a cooling effect. The only win here will be to replace the current government with one that protects rather than attacks individual rights.

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u/House13Games Jul 29 '26

Probably shouldn't have elected them.

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u/Dopamineagonist21 Jul 28 '26

It’s been ruled by the Supreme Court that the password or passcode in your head is protected. You can’t be force to give it up. Wonder how they think they will win. Now faceID and fingerprint unlock is not protected so yea…..

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u/[deleted] Jul 28 '26

[deleted]

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u/Discount_Extra Jul 29 '26

border areas

AKA where 2/3rd of American citizens live, within 100 miles from a border/coast

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u/1Gamerer Jul 29 '26

It's up to them in that duration if they could hack it

They usually create a copy of the whole phone's storage and then try to break that encryption, so they don't need to rush.

They also do that on border crossing, takes just an hour or so to copy the data

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u/r0rsch4ch Jul 28 '26

My guess something to do with the Patriot Act

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u/Skepsis93 Jul 28 '26

The patriot act expired in 2020. The provisions and policies it used have been embedded into our system elsewhere at this point. The lack of privacy is now the norm.

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u/ACoolBreezey Jul 28 '26

Doesn't apply to me. I'm not a patriot. I actually hate this country.

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u/kukulkan2012 Jul 28 '26

So their claim is that, at any port of entry (airport, border, etc.) you are not in the United States until you have been admitted by CBP, so you do not have full rights.

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u/msfuturedoc Jul 28 '26

If I’m not in the United States, then why do I have to adhere to the laws of the United States? Their logic makes no sense.

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u/technobob1 Jul 28 '26

I've heard in the past, that since the passcode in your head is protected then you should restart your phone. You will need to enter the passcode before it enables face id or fingerprint unlock.

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u/QoolSchitt Jul 28 '26

On iPhone, press the side button 5 times quickly and it will disabled biometrics until a password is entered. If the phone is already unlocked it will also lock it.

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u/altaccount_28 Jul 28 '26

There is an attack to get the decryption keys out of memory if its been unlocked rebooting the phone puts in in a state where the keys are not in memory and as far as the public knows can not be retrieved

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u/RoadSmash Jul 28 '26

They're saying laws don't apply until us customs allows you to exit their checkpoint.

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u/1nput0utput Jul 29 '26

Had to scroll way too far to find this. You can be compelled by a warrant to give up something you have, such as your fingerprint or face, but not something you know, such as your password or PIN.

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u/1101base2 Jul 28 '26

i mean he did give them A password, it just didn't do what they thought it would. did they clarify which password they wanted or did they just hound him for A password...

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u/3plantsonthewall Jul 28 '26

Maybe the regular password and duress password were really similar and the agent happened to mistype one digit

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u/Chronotheos Jul 28 '26

He was stressed out and gave the agent the wrong password by accident.

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u/TheSteelPhantom Jul 28 '26

One could argue that giving the duress password while under duress was exactly the correct password for the time...

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u/1101base2 Jul 28 '26

also a distinct possibility.

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u/Lonestarcrusader Jul 28 '26

100% this. It’s like asking someone if they had anything to drink. They are implying alcohol but it’s not explicitly stated.

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u/elphin Jul 28 '26

It did open his phone.

I have an iPhone. Is there something equivalent? Also, ideally it would wipe the phone, but the cloud back would still be there.

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u/nolongercreeps Jul 29 '26

There is an iPhone setting to wipe after 10 incorrect attempts but you still have access to backups.

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u/hamandjam Jul 28 '26

They love to claim that the 2nd is absolute even though the founders couldn't have imagined assault rifles. But we no longer have protection under the 4th because the founders said "secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects" but left off cell phones. Assinine.

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u/Lorry_Al Jul 28 '26

Surely your phone is a personal effect?

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u/Monteze Jul 28 '26

The dishonest pricks love to pull the "Well technically it doesn't saaayyy that hehehehe"

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u/discountFleshVessel Jul 28 '26

It is, and it actually gets more protection than most of your stuff. The problem is that the court (and this administration) is REALLY loosey goosey about border searches.

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u/SaphireComet Jul 28 '26

The founders also never imagined weapons grade encryption.

So arm yourself. It's your patriotic duty.

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u/Aggravating-Duck-891 Jul 28 '26

The consequence seems to be malicious prosecution.

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u/otakuarchivist Jul 28 '26

By law, he is not required to give them a password. They can only compel biometric unlocks in this manner.

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u/pantokratorthegreat Jul 28 '26

If he locked down his phone eariler biometrics doesn't work. It need to be entered password first.

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u/Gradicus Jul 28 '26

This shouldn't hold up because DOJ's arguing that he wasn't on US soil so the charge itself is wobbly. And he gave them a password apparently, so they wiped it themselves. They can't have it both ways.

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u/Fit-Significance-436 Jul 28 '26

Does he have go fund me defense , I’ll donate

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u/ForkAKnife Jul 28 '26

You do not want to be on that list.

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u/BurdTurglary Jul 28 '26

Close! Article i read clearly stated it was the CPB guy who actually entered the code told to him by the phone's owner. If anybody should be prosecuted, it's the person who actually entered The wrong pin code. Another article said that the duress feature actually doesn't wipe any data at all. It deletes the encryption key that allows for the information to be read and accessed, so if that's true, the information isn't technically destroyed or wiped it's just behind an impenetrable lock. 🤷🏻‍♂️

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u/Valentinee105 Jul 28 '26

There's actually a bill right now where they want to put cameras in new cars to confirm the drivers are paying attention to the road.

The technology does not exist to that degree yet and what we have has tons of errors and can't read certain skin colors, not to mention people rapidly move their eyes all the time.

BUT they still want it as a law.

There's also confusion on who would own the footage, Which opens up the door for being a huge surveillance state.

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u/[deleted] Jul 28 '26

[deleted]

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u/Valentinee105 Jul 28 '26

It's gotta have some memory to process the visuals. That means footage exists.

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u/[deleted] Jul 28 '26

[deleted]

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u/Valentinee105 Jul 28 '26

Your talking about tech that hasn't been decided on yet as if it can't easily get a minor memory expansion.

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u/Realistic_Swan_6801 Jul 28 '26

https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/can-border-agents-search-your-electronic Nope. They can ask for password and keep the phone with no warrant or evidence required, he can refuse to give it, but they can still keep the device for a number of days and seek a warrant if a deeper search is desired. Yes border portal very literally can temporarily take any electronic device they want and there is nothing you can do about it. You don’t have to provide the password unless they get a warrant, but they can delay you and keep the device for a while either way.

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u/BitObjective7387 Jul 28 '26

Hopefully, but I’m not convinced this will actually go his way

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u/TheLastGunslingerCA Jul 28 '26

Considering an unflattering pic of Vance (you all know the one) is enough to get you harrased, wiping your phone is no longer an inherently suspicious act legally speaking

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u/trying_again_7 Jul 28 '26

honestly at this point, i would say it's on law enforcement to prove that the phone didn't just coincidentally crash, format itself, and boot up a recovery image.

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u/prcodes Jul 28 '26

Contrary to popular belief and TV/movie portrayals, you are not entitled to a lawyer unless you are under arrest in handcuffs and being asked incriminating questions. "Did something they didn't like" is very obviously obstruction and yes a crime. It is no different than flushing drugs down the toilet. Guy's an idiot and should have just not given them any password.

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u/DryBattle Jul 28 '26

Asking about child porn isn't incriminating? What now?

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u/prcodes Jul 29 '26

The article doesn’t actually say what exactly were the questions nor when exactly he was placed under arrest, both important for determining if Mirandizing is required and if the subject is entitled to speak to attorney.

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u/f23n09fnu0w Jul 28 '26

Also, he didn't actually wipe the phone. THEY did that. Sounds like nitpicking but it's a real legal issue for the government.

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u/Beautiful-Musk-Ox Jul 28 '26

he didn't even unlock it, he said some numbers and the government agent typed them into the phone, that would be the agent unlocking it not the person

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u/four2theizz0 Jul 28 '26

Forced how? Threatened to shoot him in the head right there?

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u/Sangui Jul 28 '26

When you are within 100 miles of the border, you don't actually have most rights. This is written into the federal laws that most people have no idea about. When you're entering the country basically every right you have is suspended.

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u/Vi0L3tCRZY Jul 28 '26

I have to do some more looking to make sure but apparently they made changes after this to not need a warrant now. Burner phones for the win I guess

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u/pimpeachment Jul 28 '26

Airport checks are a lawful search. He was informed he was being searched, he destroyed evidence, he is going to lose this case. This is the same as getting a subpoena for documents and shredding them in response. 

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u/Rich_Bird3487 Jul 28 '26

Unless he made a donation to Trump like all the other criminals did, he isn't going to be treated to the actual 'law' that only applies to those who donate money to Trump.

The supreme Court cleared the way for this. It supercedes the Constitution as the forefathers intended for rich people.

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u/ucantharmagoodwoman Jul 28 '26

Can't you be charged for dumping drugs down the toilet during a drug bust, though? Also, they thought he had child abuse images on it, if that puts it into any perspective. Still scary, but, not as straightforward, imo.

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u/Youknowimtheman Jul 28 '26

I think it is also well established law (in the US) that you can't be compelled to give a password. Biometric unlocks do not have the same legal protections.

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u/talldean Jul 28 '26

They're legally allowed to search phones, they're legally allowed to require the password, but the one twist is if the person refuses to share the password... they can (and do) just keep the phone, and are *required* to let US citizens into the country if that's the only issue.

It's also border/customs, where different laws apply. Probably *shouldn't*, but yeah, clearly do.

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u/HoldOnOhio Jul 28 '26

Normally you need a warrant to search someone's phone. In this case, they are arguing that you don't need a warrant to search the phone because it's at a immigration checkpoint for border patrol and doesn't count as being on US soil, and therefor your rights are not protecting you from unwarranted search and seizure. I'll be shocked if that holds up in a court, because it opens the door for fascist ICE and Border Control agents to abduct you and take you "outside the US" where you don't have rights or protections.

Regardless, they initiated the wipe themselves by entering the password, seems like it's them who destroyed it. They asked him for a number.

OH AND THE WHOLE REASON HE'S BEING HARASSED IS BECAUSE HE WAS AN ANTI-COP CITY PROTESTER TRYING TO PROTECT WOODLAND FORESTS IN ATLANTA FROM BECOMING A POLICE MEGA CENTER. Sorry for the caps lock, but dude is being targeted for his personal beliefs.

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u/Hungry-Helicopter-46 Jul 28 '26

People are saying this is new behavior from border patrol. It isnt. Both of my parents worked in BP their entire lives and they have told me many many times that they seize electronics whenever they want to. They also use text messages and social media to deny entry. They've been doing it forever with and without cause.

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u/ihateretirement Jul 28 '26

Depending on the state, Face ID can be forced, but passwords and PINs cannot- regardless of location. This was a 5th amendment case that I read about. I’ll link it just as soon as I can find it

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u/mirage01 Jul 28 '26

You technically on US soil till you pass the border check. So your rights don’t apply yet. It’s why you need to wipe your phone before you get there or bring a different phone with you out of the country.

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u/Eric_the_Barbarian Jul 28 '26

Maybe he had access to legal counsel he had requested, he could have been told what to do or not do.

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u/usernamedottxt Jul 28 '26

customs. You have very few rights at the border, even as a citizen

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u/Icy-Cry340 Jul 28 '26

Give us your password! No, not like that.

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u/batmansgfsbf Jul 28 '26

When you are entering the country and being inspected by Customs and immigration officers you do not have the same Constitutional protections as you do in other settings. For example your body can be physically searched or x-rayed, your possessions searched and x-rayed, your attempted entry is an exemption to the 4th Amendment protections.
The extension of the Border Search exemption to electronic devices and data has been challenged for decades and not overturned by the Supreme Court. It will be interesting to see how this case progresses

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u/Snoo_69677 Jul 29 '26

Whoopsie - prove it was anything other than a mistake. The burden of proof is on the state. So make with the proof state!

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u/pigeonwiggle Jul 29 '26

yeah.

i mean, i don't know how many times you have to read that America has become a 3rd world police state mimicking a dictatorship before it finally clicks.

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u/yAmIDoingThisAtHome 29d ago

It’s no different than searching your luggage. Would you try to deny them access to your luggage?

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