Post by The Ambassador on Jun 9, 2019 16:36:51 GMT
Give up your password or go to jail: Police push legal boundaries to get into cellphones
As police now routinely seek access to people’s cellphones, privacy advocates see a dangerous erosion of Americans’ rights, with courts scrambling to keep up.Max Guther / for NBC News
June 7, 2019, 3:30 AM CDT
By Jon Schuppe
“The world should know that what they’re doing out here is crazy,” said a man who refused to share his passcode with police.
As police now routinely seek access to people’s cellphones, privacy advocates see a dangerous erosion of Americans’ rights, with courts scrambling to keep up.Max Guther / for NBC News
June 7, 2019, 3:30 AM CDT
By Jon Schuppe
William Montanez is used to getting stopped by the police in Tampa, Florida, for small-time traffic and marijuana violations; it’s happened more than a dozen times. When they pulled him over last June, he didn’t try to hide his pot, telling officers, "Yeah, I smoke it, there's a joint in the center console, you gonna arrest me for that?"
They did arrest him, not only for the marijuana but also for two small bottles they believed contained THC oil — a felony — and for having a firearm while committing that felony (they found a handgun in the glove box).
Then things got testy.
As they confiscated his two iPhones, a text message popped up on the locked screen of one of them: “OMG, did they find it?”
The officers demanded his passcodes, warning him they’d get warrants to search the cellphones. Montanez suspected that police were trying to fish for evidence of illegal activity. He also didn’t want them seeing more personal things, including intimate pictures of his girlfriend.
, think of it as a messenger. All members may send instant messages which will be seen by all other members. ~ Admin