[IP] more on Can you be compelled to give a password? [was: Police Blotter: Laptop border searches OK'd]

[David Farber <dave@farber.net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren@vortex.com>
Date: July 28, 2006 2:40:02 PM EDT
To: dave@farber.net
Cc: lauren@vortex.com
Subject: Re: [IP] Can you be compelled to give a password? [was:  
Police Blotter: Laptop border searches OK'd]


Dave, the trend is toward laws that penalize refusal to cooperate
with demands for decryption keys.  This concept can work in various
ways.  In the border case, for example, a person might be refused
entry -- or perhaps suffer confiscation of related property in some
cases -- if they declined to provide the keys.

In the case of criminal convictions, additional sentence and fine
penalties can be imposed for uncooperative attitudes in this regard.

Keep in mind that in the eyes of some in government, only people
with something to hide would bother using encryption in the first
place.  From that assumption flows a sea of potential abuses.

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
lauren@vortex.com or lauren@pfir.org
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
http://www.pfir.org/lauren
Co-Founder, PFIR
   - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, IOIC
   - International Open Internet Coalition - http://www.ioic.net
Moderator, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
DayThink: http://daythink.vortex.com

  - - -

> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: "Patrick W. Gilmore" <patrick@ianai.net>
> Date: July 28, 2006 2:11:45 PM EDT
> To: dave@farber.net
> Cc: "Patrick W. Gilmore" <patrick@ianai.net>
> Subject: Can you be compelled to give a password? [was: Police
> Blotter: Laptop border searches OK'd]
>
> On Jul 28, 2006, at 1:32 PM, David Farber wrote:
>
> > I don't believe it is a crime in any US Federal or State law, or in
> > Canadian law, to set passwords and use encryption.  In the US, I
> > believe that a warrant would be necessary for law enforcement to
> > ask for your password, but I don't know if you have to comply.   
> > IANAL.
>
> That is a good question - Can you be compelled to give up a
> password?  Would you mind posting it to IP, I am interested in the
> answer.
>
> Seems there might be some 'self-incriminatory' arguments here.
> Perhaps even an "unreasonable search" argument.  But IANAL.
>
> --
> TTFN,
> patrick
>
>
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