The debate over “compelled decryption” is likely headed for the US Supreme Court.
The context: In Hong Kong, cops have been prying open protestors' eyes so that FaceID will unlock their smartphones, giving them access to what can be a life’s worth of data. In the US, police officers can command you to look at a phone or put your finger on the sensor to unlock it, an order known as “compelled decryption.”
But should they be able to? That’s a live question right now in the US, with cases pending in the highest state courts in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. It’s likely to be reviewed by the US Supreme Court in the next two to three years, says Orin Kerr, a law professor at UC Berkeley.
The argument: Since encryption backdoors are inherently insecure, compelled decryption would be a convenient way for police to get into someone’s device without needing them. However, it’s still unclear if the practice is constitutional or not.
Read the full story here: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/614071/why-smartphones-cop-mode-might-not-keep-cops-out-for-much-longer/?utm_campaign=the_download.unpaid.engagement&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=75391469&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-93hVTa8N_UcdDMu9yYbljDHHRJH84xu-0e6wFLjm1EC9aTt253NEipQP6y2feJyvc3t04q_TVFaXMTIzODBqlHFRZebA&_hsmi=75391469