According to CBS News, in December 2006 a US customs’ officer performed a random search of a laptop that was found on the back seat of a car belonging to a Sebastien Boucher. After the officer found files with names such as “Two year old being raped during diaper change,” he charged Boucher with “transporting child pornography in interstate or foreign commerce.”

After Boucher was charged, his laptop was confiscated as evidence. However, investigators later found out that they are unable to access the questionable material on the laptop because it was, according to the Washington Post, “protected by Pretty Good Privacy, a form of encryption software used by intelligence agencies in the United States and around the world that is widely available online.” The government filed a subpoena that required Boucher to give away the passphrase that protects the data, and thus allow the government full access to his laptop.

However, Magistrate Judge Jerome J. Niedermeier ruled that the subpoena is illegal because it would violate Boucher’s Fifth Amendment rights. “If Boucher does know the [passphrase], he would be faced with the forbidden trilemma: incriminate himself, lie under oath, or find himself in contempt of court,” Niedermeier said.

Niedermeier ruling was later appealed, and a few weeks ago, according to cnet news, U.S. District Judge William Sessions ruled that Boucher does not have a Fifth Amendment right to keep his passphrase secret.

Law aside, two ethical issues pop-up in this case. Should border officials make random searches of computers that enter a country to counter the spread of child pornography; and is it ethical to force Boucher to reveal his passphrase and thus incriminate himself.

Any opinions?

Tagged as Child Pornography, Cryptography, Ethics, Law, Privacy + Categorized as Opinions, Cryptography and Privacy