Fusion reports on a request made by law enforcement to have a 3-D printing lab print out a replica of a dead man’s fingers to help them unlock his phone. In this case, law enforcement believes there may be clues on the victim’s phone that could help them solve the murder. They have all 10 of the victim’s fingerprints, but fingerprints alone do not unlock biometrically locked phones. The case once again highlights the debates around law enforcement access to locked smartphones. Though using the victim’s prints will not be a privacy violation, there is concern that such methods could eventually be used to access the phones of living suspects. Currently, citizens have Fifth Amendment protection against disclosing a memorized password, but such protections do not apply to biometric identifiers. The distinction revolves around something you know versus something you have.
Full Story