U.S. investigators are exercising a broad legal authority to force suspects to unlock their smartphones. In a recent case, they demanded that anyone found inside a California residence comply by surrendering their fingerprints.
In May, the federal prosecutors made the request as part of a search warrant, according to a court filing uncovered by Forbes. Those fingerprints were crucial to unlocking the smartphones, the Department of Justice argued.
However, the federal investigators went beyond asking for the fingerprints of one suspect. Instead, they the sought authority to “depress the fingerprints” of everyone located at the California property.
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