I was suing a crook for back-pay, and he counter-sued for $650,000, and the court let him have a warrant to search my PC because I had used it at home to deal with customers. It was a fishing expedition that yielded nothing of use to him, but it was still a big pain in the butt.Evo said:Sure if they've got a warrant they can demand access to anything the warrant specifies.
turbo said:I was suing a crook for back-pay, and he counter-sued for $650,000, and the court let him have a warrant to search my PC because I had used it at home to deal with customers. It was a fishing expedition that yielded nothing of use to him, but it was still a big pain in the butt.
skeptic2 said:Let's not forget that the expressed purpose of the Fifth Amendment was to prevent the torturing of prisoners.
The 4th Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures by the government, including the search of personal property. However, whether a computer password is protected by the 4th Amendment is a debated topic. Some argue that a password is a form of personal property and therefore protected, while others argue that it is merely a means of access to information and not protected by the 4th Amendment.
The 5th Amendment protects against self-incrimination and requires that a person cannot be forced to reveal their own incriminating information. In the case of a computer password, whether it is protected by the 5th Amendment depends on the circumstances. If revealing the password would reveal self-incriminating information, then it may be protected. However, if the password only provides access to incriminating information that already exists, the 5th Amendment may not apply.
This is a complex question that depends on the specific circumstances and laws of the jurisdiction. In general, the government can compel someone to provide their password if they have sufficient evidence that the person is involved in criminal activity and the password will provide access to incriminating evidence. However, if revealing the password would violate the person's constitutional rights, such as the 5th Amendment, it may not be allowed.
If someone genuinely forgets their computer password during a criminal investigation, the government may still be able to access the information on the computer through other means, such as using forensic tools. However, if the person is intentionally claiming to forget their password to avoid self-incrimination, they may face consequences for obstruction of justice.
Currently, there is no federal legislation specifically addressing the protection of computer passwords. However, some states have laws that protect against the forced disclosure of passwords. In addition, there have been efforts to introduce federal legislation, such as the Password Protection Act, to protect against the forced disclosure of passwords in certain circumstances.