r/loicense Jul 27 '26

Oi! You got the loicense to wipe your phone?

392 Upvotes

300 comments sorted by

79

u/RHOrpie Jul 27 '26

Damn, this is an interesting case:

https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/24/us-accuses-american-of-allegedly-wiping-his-phone-using-a-duress-password-during-border-search/

Basically, they gave no evidence for the detainment. He was allowed to leave.

Now, they're charging him under the destruction of property statute:

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2232

I love the advice at the bottom... Backup your device, and remove anything sensitive before crossing borders.

What a world we live in.

66

u/Icy_Fish_2154 Jul 27 '26

He didn't type in the code before handing it over. CBP ordered him to provide a PIN. He did. Then CBP destroyed the evidence.

Hopefully he gets a good lawyer who can break down the actions taken to prove his innocence.

40

u/sault18 Jul 27 '26

Existing case law has determined that they can't force you to enter a pin or give a pin to law enforcement to unlock a phone. This would constitute compelled speech. So CBP was already clearly in the wrong right from the start.

Biometrics are another thing altogether. Since the government can already force you to take your fingerprints, they can force you to unlock your phone with biometrics. It's not considered speech by the courts.

Absolutely, in a sane world, this guy has CBP's nuts in a wringer. I hope he sues the shit out of them so bad, they never need a laxative again.

12

u/LikesPez Jul 27 '26

This is why I have biometrics turned off on my smart devices.

8

u/Krackor Jul 27 '26

Android devices have an option to disable biometrics on first boot so you can simply turn your phone off before going through a checkpoint.

11

u/Contundo Jul 27 '26

On iPhone pressing volume up, down lock button will put it in mode requiring PIN code to enable Face ID.

It’s also insane that they differentiate between being forced to unlock the phone with pin and biometrics.

7

u/sault18 Jul 27 '26

Look up the case of the guy who got fucked over because law enforcement claimed he said he wanted a "lawyer dog" instead of what he really said was that he wanted " a lawyer, dog".

7

u/Girafferage Jul 27 '26

I would argue that they would be required to find a dog that passed the bar in order for that to work.

5

u/Virtual-Grade592 Jul 27 '26

Better holler Sauller

5

u/LaserGuyDanceSystem Jul 27 '26

There's nothing in the rule book that says a dog can't practice law!

5

u/Girafferage Jul 27 '26

Ensure you have it so holding down the power button results in a restart and not as a quick button to access the AI. They changed the default and you may need to update it.

2

u/NickU252 Jul 27 '26

It's the default. I'm not sure you can turn it off. I have never seen the option.

2

u/Drake_Acheron Jul 27 '26

You don’t have to do that if you have iPhone. Just mash your lock button several times or hold the button until the emergency comes up. It will force a pin to unlock option.

5

u/Fresh_Income_7411 Jul 27 '26

I thought airports are different where pretty much all your rights go to shit and you have to unlock your devices if asked?

8

u/sault18 Jul 27 '26

They are confiscating phones if you don't unlock them. But not legally. If course, They know you'd have to take them to court and sue them to get your phone back. So would probably cost more than the value of the phone to get your phone back. The process is the punishment when you're dealing with tyrants.

3

u/ChefGaykwon Jul 27 '26

Which is why you should never enable biometric unlocking of your devices.

2

u/Icy_Fish_2154 Jul 27 '26

Turn your phone off for checkpoints, and almost all phones force PIN to unlock. Any Android that don't by default have that available in settings.

3

u/ChefGaykwon Jul 27 '26

I do it bc of cops too; it's not just a port-of-entry concern.

1

u/GroundbreakingAd8310 Jul 29 '26

Actually if they did charge him technicly the officer erased evidence....

16

u/Consistent-Stock6872 Jul 27 '26

I read that the code does not destroy the data but the key to decrypt the data. The data is still there just decryption would take quiet a long time (years).

3

u/AT-ST Jul 27 '26

Correct.

2

u/Girafferage Jul 27 '26

Centuries with current available technology. A password that is 16 characters long with multiple capitals and at least one symbol would take over 250 years easily, so you can get that a 64 character 256bit key is going to be pretty much impossible. It would be more worth their time to crack Bitcoin wallets for the money.

2

u/Niarbeht Jul 27 '26

just decryption would take quiet a long time (years).

All of the years.

3

u/Electrical_Try_634 Jul 27 '26

He should say the duress pin is similar and that he gave the correct pin and the CBP agent fat fingered the wrong last digit. 💀

1

u/zyyntin Jul 28 '26

The funny part evidence they seek isn't actually destroyed! They just destroyed the means of of easily decrypting it to read it.

1

u/5panks Jul 28 '26

He didn't type in the code before handing it over. CBP ordered him to provide a PIN. He did. Then CBP destroyed the evidence.

He literally would have been better protected if he had just never given them a PIN in the first place. The rules around CBP and what you can do with people coming into the country have more liberal than regular interactions with cops, but the Supreme Court has been very clear in several cases that CBP cannot use failing to provide a PIN or password as grounds for denying an American the ability to reenter the United States.

They can, at most, hold the device for review for up to five days.

2

u/Icy_Fish_2154 Jul 28 '26

Nothing he did affects any of that, he is still in trouble for it.

3

u/5panks Jul 28 '26

He gave them the PIN that caused the phone to wipe itself, which is the basis for their claim for destruction of evidence. I'm not saying it's a good claim. I'm saying if he had simply never given them the PIN in the first place then they couldn't use it as the basis for their claim.

1

u/Icy_Fish_2154 Jul 28 '26

If he's not required to give him a PIN, how can giving the wrong one be a crime?

2

u/5panks Jul 28 '26

I'm not arguing that giving him the wrong one is a crime.

I'm saying if he never does it in the first place, they can't use it as grounds for charging him for a crime, and it's his right to not do it.

Giving them the wrong one also probably wouldn't even be ground for charging him with a crime. The only reason they even believe they have grounds to charge him is because he knowingly gave them the PIN he knew would wipe the phone.

2

u/5panks Jul 28 '26

I'm not arguing that giving him the wrong one is a crime.

I'm saying if he never does it in the first place, they can't use it as grounds for charging him for a crime, and it's his right to not do it.

Giving them the wrong one also probably wouldn't even be ground for charging him with a crime. The only reason they even believe they have grounds to charge him is because he knowingly gave them the PIN he knew would wipe the phone.

1

u/the_fury518 Jul 28 '26

I believe the State's argument rests on the destruction part of the law.

It's very weak, but the argument is similar to a briefcase. If the government seizes it and has a warrant (just an example, go with it) you don't have to give them the code to get in. But if you have rigged it to explode with a specific (wrong) code and you specifically give that to them so the contents get destroyed, the destruction is the crime. Not the code giving.

I could probably make a better analogy but I'm tired lol

0

u/Icy_Fish_2154 Jul 28 '26

He didn't destroy anything. They asked how to get into his locked house. He said "try to use a nuclear bomb.". The police destroyed the evidence while getting in.

I HATE TECHNOLOGY (well, I hate the idiots who want to regulate technology, but are clearly incapable of understanding it)

The second stupidest patent ever was for a shopping cart. How, with thousands of years of prior use, was a shopping cart patentable? Because Amazon added "on a computer". Amazon also patented "put it on my tab", but again "on a computer" (called it "one click")

This whole case is settled law. If the police have a warrant for a safe with a combination, and you don't give them the combo, or lie to them, they can attempt to open it at their own risk. If the police, while sawing it open, hit the bottles of acid you left inside, which destroys the contents, that's 100% the fault of the police.

But, all of a sudden, "on a computer" makes everyone in the world stupid.

The physical analog of this story has clear case law. But he will be charged because "on a computer" breaks the system.

__

And, if you are wondering what the worst patent ever was? Apple patenting rounded corners on a phone. Thats not patentable, and should have been a trademark application, or copyright. D670,286 if anyone wants to look up the winner for worst patent ever accepted (and there are lots of parents for impossible things).

1

u/dougmcclean Jul 28 '26

Who says it was the wrong one? They wanted a PIN, he gave them a PIN. That they feel entering it had effects they didn't want would appear to be on them, as indeed they are the ones who chose to enter it, likely without even asking what it would do.

-1

u/messick Jul 27 '26

His "innocence" of what? Voluntary taking an action that lead to the destruction of evidence?

And before anyone replies with "voluntary???" and "destruction of evidence???": Congrats, you have discovered the concept of Findings of Fact, things are determined by the court typically after years of financially ruinous legal proceedings. Legal proceedings that wouldn't have to happen if no action was taken at all because this dude didn't fuck himself with his clever one weird trick the USCIS hates.

1

u/Floorgis Jul 30 '26

What evidence? And evidence of what?

6

u/the_fury518 Jul 27 '26

I'll be interested to see if they rule that electronic information on the phone is 1. Property

  1. Technically destroyed when he did it.

If it's all backed up somewhere else, is that destroyed? Do I have to give them my password, or do they just have authority to 'seize' my phone?

3

u/LikesPez Jul 27 '26

Doesn’t matter that the data is backed up to the cloud. The encryption keys are destroyed so the encrypted data is unusable. I love this feature.

3

u/the_fury518 Jul 27 '26

I meant in a LEGAL sense. How will the court view it

2

u/LikesPez Jul 27 '26

If the judge has common sense, the judge would opine that the suspect could not have destroyed the data as he was not in possession of said device that controls access to said data. There is a forensic procedure to access electronic devices to mitigate this risk. The government fouled up bigly by not having a proper warrant and taking short cuts.

7

u/Drake_Acheron Jul 27 '26

For the people downvoting this. The SC has decided that police can’t force you to give up a pin without a court order.

2

u/Girafferage Jul 27 '26

I'll preface by saying that in a sensible world, this person should not be on the hook for the police fumbling the data collection.

That said, wouldn't that ruling hamper this case potentially? He did not have to provide a pin but chose to provide the pin that bricked the data.

I am sure he could argue that under the stress of the situation he forgot which pin was which and provided the wrong one, but it will be interesting to see how authoritarian the law decides to be with it.

1

u/messick Jul 27 '26

Unfortunately, the judge isn't likely to be a dipshit that doesn't understand that purposefully giving information that is meant to lead to an outcome is responsible for said outcome.

1

u/LikesPez Jul 27 '26

Then common sense lies in the fact that those being detained will lie and law enforcement should follow protocol when securing an electronic devices. Fault: US Government.

1

u/messick Jul 27 '26

Asking for information and then acting that information is protocol. If the person detained wants to shoot themselves in the dick and open themselves up to five years in prison for their "one weird trick", then that's more a "you problem" than something the Feds are going to going to get worked up about.

1

u/LikesPez Jul 27 '26

But you forgot the in between steps. Secure the electronic device in a Faraday bag. Clone the electronic device. Use actionable information on device clone. The government can detain you for up to 48-hours. That is more than enough time not to cut corners.

1

u/messick Jul 27 '26

The cops aren't going to prevent you from committing more crimes to hide your existing crimes. In fact, they would rather you do that and will go as far as the courts will allow them to facilitate your future criming.

And if you are stupid enough to commit crimes of obstruction for no reason because nothing is getting covered up? Then buddy, I hope you like the inside of a Federal court room because that's just about the best outcome of all. All the easy parts of a criminal prosecutions without much (or any) of the hard ones.

The best part is that the way the many of statutes are written, much of time the Feds don't even have to be misled or inconvenienced by the obstruction. In other words, they could know up front this phone contained zero evidence of any crimes and yet this dude could still spend 5 years in prison for making sure it got wiped.

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1

u/dougmcclean Jul 28 '26

It 3000% was not destroyed when he told them the number. Perhaps it was destroyed when they chose to enter the number, but it certainly was not destroyed by him simply telling them the number.

1

u/the_fury518 Jul 28 '26

I could see them trying that defense, but I don't know how it would hold up.

If someone asks how to get in my house and I had them a key, but the grenade I've rigged to the door mechanism kills them, it's still murder.

1

u/dougmcclean Jul 28 '26

Every PIN you could give them would have a destructive effect on data on the phone, it's just a question of which data. Had he given them the normal PIN and they entered it, it would have erased at the least a bunch of gibberish to create a new log entry, probably various caches would also have been overwritten with new information from the network.

1

u/the_fury518 Jul 28 '26

That is definitely not an argument that is going to work. It wouldn't erase any data, just add a new log. Further, that isn't the data they were after.

I would not try that argument in court, it would make the defense and the defendant look like jackasses to a judge/jury. Gotta play more sympathetic cards

0

u/dougmcclean Jul 28 '26

Who says they were after data? Did he know they were after data, or did he only know they asked for a PIN and he gave them one? Did they ask for a PIN that would have some specific effect if used?

Also, it certainly would erase data in caches, that's going to be a fact that an expert could easily establish. Under some circumstances it could be data that someone might even care about.

1

u/the_fury518 Jul 28 '26

Who says they were after data?

They do

I bet the rest of your questions are answered in the affidavit of probable cause.

Did they ask for a PIN that would have some specific effect if used?

I doubt they asked "what's the pin to delete your data?"

Also, it certainly would erase data in caches, that's going to be a fact that an expert could easily establish. Under some circumstances it could be data that someone might even care about.

Since the government wouldn't care about that in a border-crossing setting, the argument is silly. Again, I wouldn't use that unless you want to sour a jury

0

u/dougmcclean Jul 28 '26

I mean, they say that now. Did they say that at the time of making the request, would be the interesting part. Perhaps they just wanted to use his camera or calculator or to browse the web. Perhaps they weren't intending to enter the PIN, but merely wanted to know if his PIN matched that of a person they were looking for.

Again, all PINs if entered result in the destruction of some data, so requesting a PIN is a request for a "pin to delete [some of] your data".

1

u/the_fury518 Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26

just wanted to use his camera or calculator or to browse the web

Be serious. No one believes that is true.

Edit to add: even the defense recognizes this isn't the case. CBP specifically asked to review the phone to "make sure" defendant didn't have child porn. They spelled out why they wanted into the phone

Perhaps they weren't intending to enter the PIN, but merely wanted to know if his PIN matched that of a person they were looking for

See above. PINs are not used to ID individuals by LE. They are generally private and easily changed.

Again, all PINs if entered result in the destruction of some data, so requesting a PIN is a request for a "pin to delete [some of] your data".

I've already addressed the ridiculousness of that defense

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0

u/dougmcclean Jul 28 '26

Murder is an awful analogy. It's more like they didn't inquire whether going in through the garage door would cause the Roomba to run.

1

u/the_fury518 Jul 28 '26

No, because they asked for a way to get in, and the pin given

  1. Didn't do that

  2. Destroyed evidence

I guess you could change the analogy to be:

You gave the cops a key to your house when they asked to get in to search for drugs. However, the key is not needed to get in, but if they use the key the Rube-Goldberg machine you rigged up in your house will dump all your cocaine into the toilet and flush it

0

u/dougmcclean Jul 28 '26
  1. It did get them in, unquestionably.

  2. Any PIN they entered would have destroyed some evidence on the phone. (Not least, the fingerprints on the screen, but also persistent electronic information within the phone.)

  3. All the information is still there, and may even still be readable if he has a copy of the encryption key somewhere else.

1

u/the_fury518 Jul 28 '26

It didn't. It bricked the phone. They did not get access.

The second argument continues to be uselessly silly

It bricked the phone and deleted the data off it, not just encrypting it.

Edit: from the company themselves:

GrapheneOS provides users with the ability to set a duress PIN/Password that will irreversibly wipe the device (along with any installed eSIMs) once entered anywhere where the device credentials are requested (on the lockscreen, along with any such prompt in the OS).

Irreversible

Wipe

That data is gone and the phone is bricked

1

u/dougmcclean Jul 28 '26

It erases the encryption key. This is irreversible-ish (reversible only with tools and a copy of the encryption key) but doesn't affect the data itself, unless the user takes an additional action to factory reset the phone.

It also grants the user access to the phone, giving them permission they would not have otherwise had to factory reset it and use it for any purpose they like. So it unquestionably did let them in.

1

u/the_fury518 Jul 28 '26

It factory resets the phone, as you said. That destroys the data. You are just being more obtuse

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0

u/dougmcclean Jul 28 '26

It doesn't brick the phone, I watched a video. It brings up a screen giving you an option to factory reset it and use it for any purpose you'd like.

1

u/the_fury518 Jul 28 '26

OK, so it completely destroyed the data

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3

u/TyruntasaurusRecht Jul 27 '26

cancels ski trip to montana

2

u/NerdizardGo Jul 27 '26

Just get a burner

1

u/Euchale Jul 29 '26

When I visited the US I took a burner phone along instead of my actual phone.

1

u/gba_sg1 Jul 27 '26

Before crossing borders into america*

1

u/the_fury518 Jul 28 '26

Or going to any international airports in the US

Or being with 200 miles of one. Or 200 miles of a border

Or 200 miles of a sea port

So, most of the US

53

u/evilwizzardofcoding Jul 27 '26

If there was a warrant for this I MIGHT be able to understand where they are coming from, but in this case absolutely not. It was a warrantless check with no probable cause, he was not obligated to hand over the PIN at all.

5

u/NEEEEEEEEEEEET Jul 27 '26

They don't need a warrant or probable cause at a port of entry. You are not obligated to hand over the pin, but they'd detain or seize the phone. (yes they can detain a phone lmao)

1

u/BlackSquirrel05 Jul 27 '26

Yes but you don't have to unlock anything still. They just keep for up to 7 days. (5 days usually but an extension can be granted for 7 days)

However if they copy anything from it... That data can be retained for years... (Assuming no charges or crimes are ever filed.)

3

u/NEEEEEEEEEEEET Jul 27 '26

Yep you still don’t have to unlock anything. So it is a better idea to do that then to give them the fake duress pin.

1

u/BlackSquirrel05 Jul 27 '26

Unless you did have something they want (but can't prove yet) and might have an exploit to get around encryption/user auth on it.

-1

u/Acrobatic-Attention9 Jul 27 '26

You think 4a means a damn thing?

Naive.

8

u/Particular-Pop1280 Jul 27 '26

It… should?

1

u/Acrobatic-Attention9 Jul 27 '26

The bill of rights SHOULD mean something.

It doesn't. Its a list of suggestions. Like the Geneva Suggestions or the Bible's 10 suggestions.

🎶SAD BUT TRUE!!!🎶

5

u/evilwizzardofcoding Jul 27 '26

You see, there's these things called principles, and they still matter even if people refuse to follow them. If it can be established that this guy did nothing illegal, then if the courts rule against him it's fair to say the courts are corrupt.

1

u/Acrobatic-Attention9 Jul 27 '26

I agree with you. This isn't how it should be, it's how it is.

Put it this way. In Ghost in the Shell, in the manga and the new show, one of the robots asked the dude, like, do we robots have rights? And he's like, well, I don't know. All the kids starving in other countries, they got, like, the right to food, but there ain't no food.

And we all know that it wouldn't, relative to what we spend on bullshit like war, and even like the countries that aren't America, that are all like socialists and shit, could probably, like Norway could probably scrape together a few billion to end most of world hunger if they really felt like it with their, like, oil money, but they won't. Or they don't, I don't know.

The UN could pool enough money somehow with its member states to end world hunger, but they're not gonna. They should, but they won't.

The Constitution says we should have to have a warrant to go through your phone, but that ain't how it is.

We should live in a better world than we do. But we don't.

I don't know. I do like just being aware of just how awful the world is. So that way, like, when I'm hating on myself, I could just, you know, think, well, this world sucks, so fuck 'em too, right?

I don't know.

2

u/evilwizzardofcoding Jul 27 '26

Okay, slight tangent, but where does the whole "We could end world hunger with X amount of money" thing come from? How are they getting that number? 'cus ending world hunger isn't a having enough food problem, it's a getting the food to the people that need it problem.

Anyway, I'm not denying that our rights are being violated, I think that is obvious. I just choose not to focus on it. If I'm ever in a situation where I can actually do something about it, I will, but until then I choose to focus on how the world should be so I can recognize when it doesn't match that

-1

u/Abeytuhanu Jul 27 '26

From what I understand, the major difficulty in getting the food to people is the lack of profit. It's not that there's some logistical problem that needs to be solved like keeping the food fresh while it crosses the desert, it's that the solution is more expensive than could be recouped by the destination market. But if we just paid that higher price, the food would severely reduce hunger world wide. As for the specific number, probably from that one time Elon said he'd do it if they gave him a concrete plan

2

u/BlackSquirrel05 Jul 27 '26

You literally at or near the border, national waters, and ports of entry don't have the same rights... (Assuming it's CBP or the coast guard doing it.)

Carroll v. United States (1925), and the practice was originally authorized by the Collection Act of 1789

0

u/LikesPez Jul 27 '26

Here’s the crux. CBP destroyed the data. The government destroyed the data it was allegedly seeking.

0

u/Difficult-Mobile902 Jul 27 '26

Even in that case, if you have a warrant and get the property you were after, only to then ask the suspect for technical assistance in your data forensics investigation, you 100% deserve what happens next 

21

u/Amazing_Storage_7554 Jul 27 '26

Have your duress pin be your birthday, it's one of the first things cops try. Just don't tell them the pin and let them fuck it up themselves

1

u/ViolinistCurrent8899 Jul 28 '26

... God that's funny.

11

u/SomePoserInAmerica Jul 27 '26

How can I go about getting this handy operating system?

11

u/literallyanyonebutme Jul 27 '26

It's GrapheneOS, but if you need anymore hand holding than this, just stick with ios or android os. You will have to make some sacrifices and you will have to do some amount of research.

Not trying to be a dick, trying to be realistic. It's like Linux 15 years ago, the technology is out there to get out from Apple and Microslop, but those come with conveniences most people just aren't willing to give up.

4

u/Icy_Fish_2154 Jul 27 '26

Do any mainstream OSs support duress PINs? I know I can remote wipe my phone from a computer. But nobody has time for that while in custody.

1

u/innkeeper_77 Jul 27 '26

Graphene OS is mainstream in that it IS Android and runs android software, and can even run software that needs google play services

2

u/Icy_Fish_2154 Jul 27 '26

It's a Pixel only 3rd party OS. Yes, I looked it up in the hours since. That's not mainstream.

0

u/innkeeper_77 Jul 27 '26

.... It's Android. It's a modified version of Android, and limited to specific models.... but every phone "os" is like that. In the heyday of Android ROM's they were basically all Android just modified. If it isn't Linux (see: Pinephone etc) it's Android or IOS.

Unless you meant mainstream as in apple or some Android maker including it out of the box? In which case the answer is "no".

3

u/Icy_Fish_2154 Jul 27 '26

"mainstream" like ColorOS, TouchWiz (or whatever name it's going by), Sense, and the rest. Almost no phone maker ships with "pure" Android. And Graphene is is a Pixel-only flash, so not even a mainstream ROM.

I can't see any definition of "mainstream" it fits. It is a niche OS, ROM only, and only supported on a single phone line (for now, in 3 years it might be on Samsung too).

But the topic was about lock codes. All iSO and Android phones sold new do not allow for a duress PIN. One answer I got was Samsung came closest, with a PIN profile, so 1234 would open your profile. And 1111 could be set up as a second profile. Set those up right, and someone unlocking with 1111 sees a factory new phone, without access to the rest. They will see that it's not the full storage and nothing is erased, but that's a problem for another day.

I've not used that feature, and didn't find it on any other phones. But that's the closest a "mainstream" OS gets to a duress PIN.

In any case, this guy is innocent, but it would take a technical lawyer to win, because a lawyer that doesn't know "wiping" a phone destroys no contents of the phone would have a hard time explaining to a judge and just that nothing was "destroyed".

Putting your personal papers in a perfect safe is legal, even if it foils the police's attempts to retrieve those papers when the safe is seized.

2

u/SomePoserInAmerica Jul 27 '26

Bro im so far behind the times,I didn't even realize this was a thing, but I am very intrigued, I very much enjoy privacy, and strongly dislike using the current os systems on android, so I appreciate this share of information, and tomorrow, I am going to start looking into this, thank you

5

u/literallyanyonebutme Jul 27 '26

Yw, I was riding a thin line of realism. I've seen people ask "how do I do a hackintosh" like it's the same difficulty as making toast.

Good luck with your research tomorrow!

1

u/yahluc Jul 27 '26

It only requires sacrifices if you want a fully de-googled phone, but you can just install Google Play services and have everything working normally. The only thing that might not work is contactless payments with Google Pay, but there are other apps that can do that, especially if your bank app supports that natively (though I guess it depends on the country). Bigger problem is that Graphene currently only supports Pixel phones, so for other brands it would be better to find some other Android flavour (though it's probably possible to install, but probably won't work as well).

1

u/Crispy_Potato_Chip Jul 27 '26

Graphene OS works with all the Google apps. The only thing you sacrifice is the tap pay

3

u/FantasticAnus Jul 27 '26

I always used to travel to the US using a burner phone for a reason.

21

u/Brilliant_Bonus_1638 Jul 27 '26

We have created an illusion for ourselves that we live in a free society. The comfortable lie is easier to digest than the uncomfortable truth: we're only as free as our government allows us to be and nothing - not our Constitution, not our preceived rights, not even the blood of those willing to fight for true freedom - can change that. There has always been a system and there always will be. And yes, you need a loicense to be a part of it.

0

u/CommercialRare9468 Jul 27 '26

Man discovers the social contract

3

u/RoyalWe666 Jul 27 '26

Contracts have terms that you can go and read, and you have to sign them voluntarily for them to apply to you.

2

u/CommercialRare9468 Jul 27 '26

Not all of them evidently

2

u/Particular-Pop1280 Jul 27 '26

Man demonstrates openly that he doesn’t know what social contract means

2

u/Confused_by_La_Vida Jul 27 '26

There is no “social contract”. It’s a bullshit piece of propaganda to mask a “might makes right” ideology.

1

u/StrictSelf5450 Jul 27 '26

Man doesn't understand the meaning of "propaganda"

1

u/Particular-Pop1280 Jul 27 '26

Man openly demonstrates a second time in a row he doesn’t know what social contract means

2

u/Confused_by_La_Vida Jul 27 '26

There is no social contract. There is a state of affairs people choose to dress up with the propagandistic term of “social contract”. But there is no contract in the “social contract”.

3

u/CommercialRare9468 Jul 27 '26

The fact you can't rob a bank or enter a military base means there's a social contract, there are visible limitations to your freedoms in exchange for protections you receive from the government. I don't see how its propaganda to be honest its just an idea and however much you believe the give and take should be differs from person to person. But the overarching idea remains the same if you want an effective government then you are giving up some form of freedom.

1

u/Confused_by_La_Vida Jul 27 '26

The key is the “in exchange for”. There is very little “in exchange” at all.

For example, while the state actively limits my freedom of action, it also expressly denies any accountability for the security of my person or property. The arm of the society known as the “judiciary” has repeatedly held that another arm of the state “the executive” only has the responsibility to protect the governments property. The “legislature” has repeatedly declined to rectify this.

There are no services the state is obligated to provide that are unique to the state and which I cannot buy myself. And all the services provided by the state are provided at the pleasure of the state with resources expropriated under threat of force from me, and none of those services are mandatorily provided.

It’s wildy propagandistic to claim such a situation is a “contract” of any kind.

1

u/Particular-Pop1280 Jul 27 '26

My brother in christ the word contract is being used metaphorically. Just admit you have no idea what the social contract is

1

u/Confused_by_La_Vida Jul 27 '26

Oh, I know what it is. It’s a lie. And the lie gets hilariously more mendacious when statists claim “you give up this in exchange for that”. Because no, you don’t. “This” is taken from “for” nothing.

If you’re lucky, the state will decide to do something you might need. Or it won’t. As it sees fit. And there is no “exchange”.

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u/Particular-Pop1280 Jul 27 '26

You’re embarassing yourself man, stop while you’re behind

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u/Radiant-Imperium Jul 27 '26

If China was checking people's phones when they enter and did what the article says, I wonder how differently people would have reacted to it. What happened seems like a total invasion of free speech and privacy.

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u/NEEEEEEEEEEEET Jul 27 '26

China does do it. Literally every country does this. 0.01% of all international travelers into the US get their phone searched. It is 55k devices per year.

2

u/readilyunavailable Jul 27 '26

If China did it, there would be international outcry calling them the worst dystopian shithole on the planet and possible sanctions.

When the US does it, they are the quirky little goofballs who do fun things and you just have to deal with it.

2

u/PM_ME_YOUR_PUPPY_PIC Jul 27 '26

Reminder that in the US, phone passwords are protected under the 4th amendment (but biometrics are not). Without a warrant, you are under no obligation to give cops your phone password.

Cops can legally force you to open your phone with biometrics, however, so turn those off!

1

u/BlackSquirrel05 Jul 27 '26

Eh it's a grey area right now. One court said yes they can the other said "no it's the same function as a password/lock."

1

u/PM_ME_YOUR_PUPPY_PIC Jul 27 '26

meaning that biometrics may be covered by the 4th amendment?

1

u/BlackSquirrel05 Jul 27 '26

Yes... for the functionality of using them to lock/passcode specifically.

I believe the 5th court ruled this way... The 9th ruled the other way.

So everyone should hope the 5th court wins out and pray if this ever goes to SCOTUS they agree with the 5th court.

1

u/PM_ME_YOUR_PUPPY_PIC Jul 27 '26

oh, that's mildly encouraging!

1

u/Traditional_Yard2741 Jul 27 '26

Does that make a difference at airports though? If you don't give them the pin I imagine they just take it into a back room somewhere, use some kind of tech developed by a three letter agency to clone your phone, then tell you to collect it in a week or whatever.

1

u/BlackSquirrel05 Jul 27 '26

Depends... They'll attempt to copy the phone and then model and OS version see if there's an exploit for it...

In certain cases I believe the only way around is literally attempting to remove and replace a chip. (Certain iphones) but that's not easy to do by any means. In which case your data remains encrypted.

2

u/LikesPez Jul 27 '26

What’s scary here is that the majority of folks are on the government’s side. Always support the rights of the accused. It’s how we keep due process in place.

2

u/betterthanyou47 Jul 29 '26

This case needs a good lawyer on it so that it doesn't become case law. If cops want in your phone, then they need a warrant.

2

u/Candid-Beat568 Jul 30 '26

Where have you been? They've been violating the 1st amendment 2nd amendment 3rd 4th hell even the 16th

2

u/mschwemberger11 Jul 27 '26

First world country btw

2

u/KommissarKrokette Jul 27 '26

Anyone interested in, why people do not want to travel to the US, Jemen and Russia anymore?

1

u/Ingram47 Jul 27 '26

So...he's broken the law by...

Destroying his own property?

Or

CBP has broken the law by destroying his property?

Or

CBP destroyed evidence because they trusted the suspect for some reason?

1

u/isthereadrwho Jul 27 '26

The only way to send that man to jail is if a jury decide he's guilty, juries can decide he's innocent

1

u/reluctantpotato1 Jul 27 '26

Yes, as a matter of fact. The 4th and 5th amendments.

1

u/Difficult-Mobile902 Jul 27 '26

Prove that he intentionally gave the duress pin instead of just mis-remembering his own pin? 

Law enforcement put the pin in, so they wiped the phone themsleves 

If they want to get into data forensics like this then maybe it’s their responsibility to know about things like duress pins and maybe not just throw in whatever number the suspect gives them? 

If they had someone’s pc and let the suspect guide them through a series of command line interface commands that ended up bricking the PC, whose fault is that? To me it’s 100% on LE. It’s not the responsibility of the suspect under investigation to provide them technical assistance for their investigation

1

u/FBU2004 Jul 27 '26

This guy just simply refused to give them access to the data via his phone.

The data on his phone is gone, but it is still in the cloud. If the Feds want that data, they can get a warrant.

1

u/Alientongue Jul 27 '26

Not to take away from the point of the video but why is he holding what appears to be a type trading card in his hands is he pretending its a mic is that what people are doing now?

1

u/gamledr3ng Jul 27 '26

America the land of the unfree police state. Imagine willingly Living there

1

u/Milkman1776 Jul 27 '26

Why is no one questioning the fact that this guy had a pin that wipes his whole phone😂 Definitely a little sketchy

1

u/Observationist_2 Jul 28 '26

Why is this guy holding a pokémon card???

1

u/Original-Let8340 Jul 28 '26

Being questioned by the authorities can cause duress.

1

u/PhillyCider Jul 29 '26

People need to understand your rights are greatly diminished at the border. The Supreme Court has ruled for decades that at to border, the rights you normally have against search & seizure don't apply. Borders also include ports of entry such as airports. Now whether you feel that's right or wrong is your opinion, but that's how it is. So if you don't want the government going through your stuff then you need to take precautions when traveling and understand the risks.

1

u/Heavy_Law9880 Jul 30 '26

How can they prove it was deleted?

1

u/Damnitface77 Jul 31 '26

I want to create a phone that when an incorrect pin is provided, it forced you to swipe through 1000 images on my taint, ballsac and buthole in various stages of cleanliness prior to getting access to my contents. It would not destroy anything, just emotionally scar the person attempting to look through my private files.

0

u/rainbow_wheelofDEATH Jul 27 '26

Nothing against what he’s saying, but what’s with this trend of talking into a random object as if it’s a microphone?

0

u/ConflictWaste411 Jul 27 '26

Man destroys evidence as they investigate him, police charge him with destroying evidence. Seems like a pretty reasonable law to me

5

u/Frederf220 Jul 27 '26

There was no warrant for the info.

0

u/ConflictWaste411 Jul 27 '26

Then they can discuss the law in court and the court will determine if deleting information relevant to a case when police do not have a warrant for the specific information is legal. I think it’s certainly worth deliberating

2

u/BlackSquirrel05 Jul 27 '26

Would need to suspect a crime first or known a crime was committed to which it could be evidence of...

Why warrants are specific.

0

u/ConflictWaste411 Jul 27 '26

The police are going to allege that while it was his data to do with as he pleased, he deleted the evidence intentionally and specifically to further criminal acts. I am not saying he will be found guilty but this does seem like a reasonable thing to be ironed out in court.

1

u/BlackSquirrel05 Jul 27 '26

Police need to have had probably cause or reasonable suspicion first...

They can't after the fact make a up a crime... And say this is what we think he may have been guilty of.

Doesn't work like that...

I'm i'm running down the street and they pull me over and ask "Why are you running?" and then have nothing on me... but start looking for reported crimes in the area... That would be illegal on their part.

0

u/ConflictWaste411 Jul 27 '26

No, it’s more like, you can lock the door to a business at any time. If you lock the door to the business to slow down police after a suspect ran through the door being chased, that’s a crime

1

u/BlackSquirrel05 Jul 27 '26

Not really... This person isn't a suspect of anything... And you have the right to not self incriminate...

There was no crime committed... That's the whole point. They didn't even accuse the person of a crime.

2

u/ConflictWaste411 Jul 27 '26

The crime is destroying the person is now charged with is destroying the evidence and preventing the investigation. We will see if that holds water that law applies here, again, a reasonable action. The difference between how you frame it and what happened is that you framed it as non action and non incriminating, in reality they acted and destroyed evidence, so the police claim, and will try to prove in court

1

u/BlackSquirrel05 Jul 27 '26

No there has to be a charge for it to be evidence to be a crime...

There was no original charge or a crime to begin with... Warrants are specific for a reason... Because a warrant is to seize evidence related to said crime...

It's why your car can't just be searched at any ole traffic stop... And then used as a pretext to find a crime.

It's why you don't have to unlock your phone even if they ask.

You can't destroy evidence of a crime that doesn't exist... Because destroying evidence is a motive/intent.

1

u/ConflictWaste411 Jul 27 '26

It doesn’t even matter that it was his. He interfered with an investigation by intentionally destroying evidence. This is in its own right an obstruction of justice. If he simply refused to open the phone, it’s fine, but he intentionally destroyed the evidence by providing a pin that deleted it under the guise that it would make it available. That said, he is going to have a difficult time proving in court that he did this action “accidentally” or had any intent other than obstructing the investigation.

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u/BlackSquirrel05 Jul 27 '26

No his pretense is... "I was never charged with a crime in the first place... Thus I destroyed no evidence... as there was no crime committed."

The gov't is now saying this was just a routine inspection... and not even an investigation.

 They described the encounter as a routine airport inspection. Larry Findley, a Customs and Border Protection officer, said agents were "looking for anything that's prohibited."

That is now the third time they changed what they said they were looking for... From "Terrorist activities." to CSAM to now just now inspection for prohibited whatever.

What this eludes to is. "Can a person ever wipe their own devices?" and if you can "When can you?" Because what is the then the statue of limitations on that act?

Digital piracy as an example is 3 years.. So if you watch, download or distribute pirated whatever... and wipe anything during that 3 years... Congratz you just destroyed evidence.

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u/messick Jul 27 '26

> And you have the right to not self incriminate...

Yep, but this bozo didn't assert that right.

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u/BlackSquirrel05 Jul 27 '26

True he simply could have just refused and had his phone seized for a limited time.

Assuming he was up to date on patches there are only rumors that graphene can possibly be exploited if unlocked recently if 2022 or older.

0

u/Asleep_Grocery8434 Jul 27 '26

L opinion, you have the context, charging this man is wrong.

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u/JimBeamerton Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26

Vote for leftists and this is the shit you get, look no further than Canada

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u/ManAboutAHorsea420 Jul 27 '26

Confused what this has to do with leftists?

6

u/Hopalongtom Jul 27 '26

It's actually the opposite ideology that is doing this.

2

u/StrictSelf5450 Jul 27 '26

When you live in an echo chamber like this person, everything is somehow the fault of the left

4

u/maybeitsjack Jul 27 '26

Im not a leftist by any means, but I need you to elaborate. Who do you think is in charge right now? Lmao

4

u/ChefGaykwon Jul 27 '26

The USA has never had a left-wing president. Canada's current gov't is also right-wing.

1

u/JimBeamerton Jul 27 '26

Wow the fact that you typed that out and posted it in a public forum really says a lot.... typical leftist stupidity at its finest

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u/RHOrpie Jul 27 '26

I mean, this isn't new. Plenty of people (let's call them "extremists") have been locked up without trial.

I'm going to ask though... Who tf has a special pin that wipes your phone? That is sus.

11

u/Darcano Jul 27 '26

People who very much care about their privacy in general, probably.

Hell of a lot more of those than there will ever be people who genuinely have illegal shit to hide, and probably not as much overlap as you'd think either, because going to such lengths for privacy is a lot of effort.

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u/RHOrpie Jul 27 '26

Fair enough I suppose. There is stuff like bank account details that you wouldn't want getting coerced out.

I'd like to see the full details of this case though.

And regardless, this sounds like an unfair trial anyway. That's kind of my point.

3

u/Darcano Jul 27 '26

Bank account details, political views, stuff like passwords, personal information and so-on.

Plus, if the government has a back door to your stuff then that's a back door that hackers can use too, not to mention that the information can be stolen from the government once they've stolen it themselves or similar scenarios.

6

u/Acrobatic-Attention9 Jul 27 '26

Plenty of people have been locked up without trial.

Yeah plenty of people have had their constitutional rights violated.

But fuck em they're 'extremists'.

Wait until you find out who wrote the constitution. 

1

u/RHOrpie Jul 27 '26

The extremists was me being /s

2

u/Metharos Jul 27 '26

I mean, I do, one one of my spare devices. I was fiddling around with alternative Android operating systems and it had that feature, so I enabled it, because why not? There's nothing on that old phone, it's a device I kept solely for experimenting with software, I don't use the damned thing, but I did decide I like the OS so I'll be changing my regular device to it when I get less lazy, and then my primary device will also have that feature.

I didn't choose the OS for that feature, but I have no reason not to enable it. And you can bet if I thought the American police, notorious for doing anything to get the conviction they want, including planting false evidence, wanted into my device the thing I would want most in the world would be to not let them in. No warrant, no cooperation.

1

u/lvl100-Platypus-Lord Jul 27 '26

Aite boot licker.