Fingerprint technology opening back door to phone information

Think the information on your smartphone is safe from being viewed by authorities if you are being investigated?  Think again, if you use the fingerprint-sensor technology being implemented on more and more devices.

According to a story on informationweek.com, that’s what a woman in California just found out.  The FBI obtained a warrant from a Los Angeles court that compelled her to press her finger to her locked phone to give the authorities access to the data on the device.

Wait a minute, you say.  What about the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination?  As it turns out, that doesn’t apply in this case.  One of the provisions of the amendment states that no one “shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.”  This clause applies to preventing law enforcement authorities or the government from forcing an individual to make a statement or give a testimony that could incriminate them.

The act of pressing your finger against a phone to unlock the information contained within is not considered to be giving a statement or testimony.  It is considered the same way as the officers or court compelling someone to turnover a key to an airport locker or other such item.

In an ironic twist, by having a PIN number or password, the authorities can not compel you to provide that information to unlock the screen, because, by providing them with the password or PIN number, you would be making a statement.

There is likely to be a great deal of conversation about this issue in the coming months, as according to the article, shipments of fingerprint sensors are expected to reach 1.6 billion units by the year 2020, up from 499 million in 2015.

Jamie Fox, a principal analyst at IHS Technology, said in a statement that ultrasonic fingerprint sensors will be the newest form of technology to be marketed in the next year or so.  Those sensors will make your phone even more secure against hacking technology, but even that still won’t apply to the issue of the Fifth Amendment rights.