“Fingerprint evidence -– unlike a password -– is physical evidence that can be compelled with a court order, overriding the objections of an accused or the next of kin of an accused,” Andrea Matwyshyn, Northeastern University professor of law, told Forbes. There’s already precedent for law enforcement to bypass screen locks with fingerprints. What’s more, dead people aren’t subject to 4th Amendment protections, which means that the government would have significantly fewer legal hoops to jump through in order to access a locked mobile device.

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