Use of Biometrics to Unlock Phone Not ‘Testimonial,’ Judge Says

A man accused of smuggling Egyptian artifacts into the US lost his bid to suppress evidence seized from his iPhone during a warrantless search, after a federal court in New York rejected his constitutional claims.

The US District Court for the Eastern District of New York said that the compelled use of biometrics to unlock a phone wasn’t a testimonial act implicating defendant Ashraf Omar Eldarir’s Fifth Amendment’s privilege against self-incrimination.

The Second Circuit has yet to address the issue, but it is one that has divided courts elsewhere, according to the Thursday decision.

Judge Lashann DeArcy Hall said she ...