MANILA, Philippines – A judge in the US city of Los Angeles ordered a woman to bypass the security lock on an iPhone with her fingerprint.

The Los Angeles Times reported on Saturday, April 30, that authorities got a search warrant that compelled the girlfriend of an alleged Armenian gang member to unlock a seized iPhone so the data inside it could be analyzed.

The case involved the fingerprint of identity theft suspect Paytsar Bkhchadzhyan, who was compelled to unlock her iPhone using the TouchID system around 45 minutes after she was arrested.

The phone itself was seized from a Glendale home linked to Sevak Mesrobian, reportedly Bkhchadzhyan’s boyfriend and a member of the Armenian Power gang.

There is some debate regarding the iPhone unlocking order, however, as it may violate the US constitution’s fifth amendment, which protects against self-incrimination.

While legal analysts may be discussing whether or not it was a violation of the fifth amendment, it is ultimately a matter for the courts and law enforcement to see if this is a practice they will continue moving forward. – Rappler.com