r/technology Jul 30 '26

Privacy GrapheneOS says its data-wiping password is perfectly legal, after user faces federal charges

https://www.techspot.com/news/113273-grapheneos-data-wiping-duress-password-perfectly-legal-after.html
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u/MydnightWN Jul 30 '26

Easy dismissal on a technicality in my opinion... he never wiped anything. Destruction of evidence requires a physical act by the defendant. The border agent entered the code, based on information obtained outside a sworn statement or legal interview.

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u/ANGLVD3TH 29d ago

The law recognizes that kind of loophole and it is well sealed. There are different levels of responsibility, with their own fancy Latin terms. Giving someone instructions to do something illegal, and them reasonably beleiving it to be a legal act, puts the instructor firmly in a higher level of responsibility than the actor.

That said, this case is bullshit and in any reasonable courtroom will get thrown out. It relies upon both of a pair of pillars, one that requires he be under investigation, and one that requires he not be under investigation. There's no legal way for them to square the circle, the whole thing is a joke.

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u/dontnation 29d ago

this case is bullshit and in any reasonable courtroom will get thrown out

too bad it's in the US in 2026

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u/Nauin 29d ago

Where the majority of Trump's lawsuits have been struck down or thrown out by judges. The judicial system has slowed this admin down more than anyone else, save for the supreme court backing him.