Post #49934

2025-12-10 19:41 UTC

If he’s a US citizen, he’s better off refusing to enter any PIN. That’s protected by the 5th amendment. If not a citizen and this was in a port of entry context, then he would still have the 5th amendment protection. But customs can simply choose to refuse entry on discretion. So that’s a potentially serious consequence.

Replies (2)

@BreadstickNinja@lemmy.world 2025-12-10 20:28

It depends on port of entry. The ninth circuit, which covers San Francisco, has upheld that non-citizen entrants can refuse to provide a phone pin, but other circuits have found differently. So odd that this happened in California because there’s a pretty powerful set of protections in place in the ninth circuit specifically - not that the current admin gives a shit about the law.

Open ##50073
@RunningInRVA@lemmy.world 2025-12-10 21:17

At least on an iPhone, if the device has been unlocked since powering on, then forensic tools such as Cellebrite’s can extract information from the phone. The absolute safest bet is to perform a wipe. If this person is an activist then he’s an easy target and likely knew to be prepared for such an interrogation with our current fascist administration.

Open ##50242