[Cryptography] US Case: Infinite Jail Contempt for Disk Crypto, 5th Amndmnt, All Writs, FileVault, Freenet CHKs

[Yui Hirasawa]

> https://yro.slashdot.org/story/16/04/27/2357253/child-porn-suspect-jailed-indefinitely-for-refusing-to-decrypt-hard-drives
> http://thehackernews.com/2016/04/decrypt-hard-drive.html
> https://www.scribd.com/doc/310741233/Francis-Rawls-Case
> http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/04/child-porn-suspect-jailed-for-7-months-for-refusing-to-decrypt-hard-drives/
>
> Amici Curiae by EFF and ACLU
>
> A Philadelphia man suspected of possessing child pornography has been
> in jail for seven months and counting after being found in contempt of
> a court order demanding that he decrypt two password-protected hard
> drives. The suspect, a former Philadelphia Police Department sergeant,
> has not been charged with any child porn crimes. Instead, he remains
> indefinitely imprisoned in Philadelphia's Federal Detention Center for
> refusing to unlock two drives encrypted with Apple's FileVault
> software in a case that once again highlights the extent to which the
> authorities are going to crack encrypted devices. The man is to remain
> jailed "until such time that he fully complies" with the decryption
> order. The government successfully cited a 1789 law known as the All
> Writs Act to compel (PDF) the suspect to decrypt two hard drives it
> believes contain child pornography. The All Writs Act was the same law
> the Justice Department asserted in its legal battle with Apple.

Following is an interesting quote[1] from the Slashdot thread:

> Actually, it's reported that he claims not to know the password.
>
> "...Rawls has a clean record and doesn’t know the passwords
> prosecutors are looking for, the defense argues" (http://gizmodo.com/
> child-porn-suspect-held-in-solitary-for-7-months-for-no-1773403443)

This could set a VERY dangerous precedent.

[1]: https://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=9039785\&cid=52006677