The Fifth Amendment does not prohibit the police from forcing users to provide a fingerprint to unlock a mobile device but it does prohibit them from forcing users to provide a passcode.
This was the ruling of a District Court in Virginia.
The court’s rationale is that the Fifth Amendment does not protect against providing physical or tangible information to further an investigation, such as DNA evidence or a physical key, but it does protect a defendant from having to provide information that must be communicated because by communicating that information, the defendant would be testifying against himself.
Read more: Court Rules Police Can Force Users to Unlock iPhones With Fingerprints, But Not Passcodes – Mac Rumors.
