U.S. Judge: Man Can't Be Forced to Divulge Encryption Passphrase
December 19, 2007
From News.com: A federal judge in Vermont has ruled that prosecutors can’t force a criminal defendant accused of having illegal images on his hard drive to divulge his PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) passphrase.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Jerome Niedermeier ruled that a man charged with transporting child pornography on his laptop across the Canadian border has a Fifth Amendment right not to turn over the passphrase to prosecutors. The Fifth Amendment protects the right to avoid self-incrimination.
The judge’s decision hinges on the distinction between a passphrase serving as “… testimonial communications” and a “key” that a defendant can be compelled to produce. The former is protected by the U.S. Constitution’s 5th Amendment, the later is not.
The outcome of this case is heartening, especially when compared with laws like Great Britain’s RIPA, which was created to punish defendants who are not cooperative in producing passwords for encrypted materials.
Too bad the content protected by this decision is alleged to be child pornography – it’s not exactly the kind of case that inspires people to keep their cool and reason their way through the ramifications of a ruling that could have had a different outcome.
