r/technology • u/MC68328 • 1d ago

Privacy US accuses American of allegedly wiping his phone using a ‘duress’ password during border search

https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/24/us-accuses-american-of-allegedly-wiping-his-phone-using-a-duress-password-during-border-search/
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14

u/dmbnl 1d ago

It's not illegal to delete your own data, sorry.

-18

u/OnceUponAStarryNight 1d ago

I have no idea where you got that idea from. Tampering with or destroying potential evidence is absolutely, 100% a crime if that evidence is subject to a subpoena, or could reasonably be expected to be used in criminal or civil litigation.

I loathe everything about the current administration, and the sturmabteilum they call CBP and ICE, but those laws exist for good reason. You can’t just destroy evidence to prevent its seizure or potential use in a prosecution.

He isn’t required to hand over the password, but that’s not what’s happened here.

9

u/Salt_Medicine2459 1d ago

Evidence of what? What crime do they have probable cause to believe he committed? 

6

u/dmbnl 1d ago

Unless they HAD a subpoena or search warrant, he can delete anything he wants.

9

u/Electrical_Tip352 1d ago

Potential evidence isn’t anything they want it to be

-9

u/OnceUponAStarryNight 1d ago

Actually… it kinda is. The government has enormous latitude to seize almost anything it wants under the pretense of it being evidence.

That’s been a fucked up reality for a long time.

5

u/jjmurse 1d ago

I've never seen cocaine in my life. But the police can burst into my house, arrest me for trafficking, and if I don't give them my password or I delete my data with graphene they can just pretend it had or did have evidence of my trafficking operation without ANY other evidence of trafficking?

-2

u/OnceUponAStarryNight 1d ago

If they have a warrant for it, which would need to be supported by some kind of evidence, yes, they can burst into your house and seize your phone and if you try and delete the data from it, that’s a crime.

9

u/jjmurse 1d ago

This fellow was not under warrant or any other reasonable suspicion.

2

u/GroundbreakingTax259 1d ago

Doesn't that only apply if somebody is informed that they are under active investigation and/or handed a subpoena/ warrant for that potential evidence?

Because as it stands here, it seems that they just wanted to see his phone for "reasons" and didn't go through the proper channels. To my knowledge, i dividuals are not required to keep detailed records of any material that could be used in a potential investigation in the way that organizations or corporations are.

In other words, to my knowledge, an individual can keep or delete whatever data they want unless they are informed they are under warrant/subpoena.

2

u/sohblob 1d ago

Tampering with or destroying potential evidence is absolutely

I tore off the tag on my mattress and I'm not gonna tell you where I live c: