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If the police can describe what they are looking for on the encrypted volume and get a warrant for it then as per the fourth you provide the item or go to jail
by spiralpolitik 12y ago
If the police can describe what they are looking for on the encrypted volume and get a warrant for it then as per the fourth you provide the item or go to jail for contempt. ("We want the spreadsheet describing the fraudulent transactions") There was a case recently that ruled this way.
If they can't do that then it's a fishing expedition and you can't be compelled to decrypt the volume. There was another case that ruled this way.
Both are completely in line with the fourth amendment and IMHO correct.
Both are being appealed so things could change.
No new laws needed.
- farmdawgnation 12y agoHowever, I think that in the case of a password or passphrase (e.g. something that you know) that would trigger decryption of such a spreadsheet you can refuse to give that up under the Fifth Amendment under current caselaw. With a physical key, you couldn't do that.
- spiralpolitik 12y agoI think that part is up in the air and will probably be decided by the supreme court sometime in the next few years. Encryption on a per file basis is somewhat interesting. You've provided the item requested but do you have to provide it in an understandable format ? An interesting analogy would be if you had a document written in a language (say shorthand) only you could understand, could you be compelled to provide a translation ?