Magistrate judge denies boilerplate warrant request for forced fingerprint unlocking of iPhones

Federal agents who want to search a premises for electronic devices haven’t justified a request to force people there to provide fingerprints or thumbprints to unlock iPhones and iPads, a federal magistrate judge in Chicago has ruled. U.S. Magistrate Judge M. David Weisman ruled on Feb. 16 when considering the government’s search warrant application in a child pornography case.