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U.S. Citizen Who Deleted Phone’s Data Says His Prosecution Puts Privacy at Risk (www.nytimes.com)
submitted 5 days ago by to c/technology@beehaw.org
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[–] 9 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 child)

Yeah and it's even more stupid for him to be giving out interviews right now defending his actions. If I was him I would shut up in public and tell prosecutors that I was under extreme stress and pressure of the detainment and accidentally mixed up the real password with the duress password. The government can easily prove all elements for obstruction of justice "destruction or removal of property to prevent seizure" here, except for intent.

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  • [–] 3 points 5 days ago (1 child)

    Would having a duress password at all be what they need to prove intent? Did he go out of his way ahead of time to set it up or is it part of the setup process of the OS?

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  • [–] 5 points 5 days ago (1 child)

    I think stuff like that would be up to the jury to decide. If I was on that jury I definitely wouldn't consider just having a duress password to imply intent of "knowingly preventing the Government to take property into its custody", especially since GrapheneOS doesn't really mention state actors in its FAQ. It would be reasonable for him to claim that he enabled this feature to protect himself from illegal searches or kidnapping, and accidentally gave the wrong answer to the cops.

    But reading the OP interview it seems to me that he is almost admitting that he wiped the phone intentionally, tipping the scales significantly. Is it "beyond reasonable doubt" that he intentionally gave the duress password now? Maybe.

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  • [–] 3 points 3 days ago*

    it seems to me that he is almost admitting that he wiped the phone intentionally,

    Seems like he's trying to change the system, to do a public good, rather than only escape his conviction.

    I appreciate that they challenge the system, even if it's not individually advisable and at significant personal risk.

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