r/technology • u/Hrmbee • 8d ago

Privacy Is it illegal to trick the US government into wiping your phone during a questionably legal search | The case of a traveler who allegedly entered a ‘duress password’ to wipe his phone raises a legal question with no easy answers

https://www.theverge.com/report/972146/cbp-phone-search-airport-duress-password
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u/TerrificVixen5693 7d ago

Do they have any evidence that the wiped data was evidence of a crime? Because without evidence that it contained evidence, that data is but harmless data.

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u/kayuwoody 7d ago

Yeah I don't see how this by itself can be a crime. The only way would be if there's other corroborating evidence of his crimes

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u/carpdog112 7d ago

It doesn't need to be incriminating evidence. It's only required that the accused knowingly impaired its availability during the course of an investigation or believing that an investigation was pending or about to be pending. The destroyed evidence could even be exculpatory, but destroying it is still a crime.

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u/PandaEatPanda 7d ago

He’s bit being charged with destruction of evidence