this post was submitted on 28 Jul 2026
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[–] merc@sh.itjust.works 17 points 2 days ago (2 children)

So, let's see if I understand this.

Border control agents are allowed to search his phone without a warrant because he technically wasn't in the US, even though he was in Atlanta, because technically that part of the airport counts as not being inside the US.

But, the border control agents are allowed to search his phone in a part of the world that isn't in the US because...? Are border control agents allowed to search his phone in France or Australia? Or is it only in these special pocket dimensions that occur in airports that are in the US but not in the US?

When they demanded that he unlock the phone, he wasn't read his rights, and they refused his requests for a lawyer, presumably because he didn't have those rights because he wasn't technically in the US at the time.

So, he gave them the "duress code" for Graphene OS which deleted the phone's contents.

Now he's being charged under a federal law for knowingly damaging or destroying property to prevent it from being seized.

Is this a law that applies outside the US? Because, we've established that what happened wasn't in the US, which is how they were allowed to search his phone without a warrant, not tell him his rights, and refuse his request for a lawyer.

I know if fundamentally comes down to "might makes right", but borders are an especially egregious case of a location where your rights don't matter.

[–] brendansimms@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

they'll force him to pay a bunch of legal fees then it will get thrown out of court for being ridiculous, but the damage of the threat will have been done.

This is the kind of case ACLU does for free.

[–] dustyData@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

De facto it is common practice for the US courts to apply US laws to people who are not US citizens and have never been to US soil for things they did abroad. Either to no one in particular or to non US citizens. The empire knows no bounds and understands their own law as universal.

De jure it is going to be a dry, expensive, and long winded debate that will ruin this man's life thus achieving the political goal.

[–] wrinkle2409@lemmy.cafe 93 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Ok, so basically they got nothing. If the point was to intimidate people to not use a duress code, I'd say it did the opposite by making people more away it exists. Basically free Graphene OS advertisement

[–] einlander@lemmy.world 20 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Also MDM enrolled devices will wipe themselves after a number of failed attempts.

[–] NatakuNox@lemmy.world 18 points 2 days ago (1 children)

They have a back door into ever phone already but that requires a signed warrant. They were hoping he'd wave his rights, but he outsmarted them. So they are mad.

[–] Auli@lemmy.ca -1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

No they don't. The exploits get patched and harder and harder to find.

[–] NatakuNox@lemmy.world 7 points 2 days ago

Oh sweet summer child.

[–] Brkdncr@lemmy.world 11 points 2 days ago

BlackBerry MDM had duress PINs. One to wipe and another to not wipe but send an alert that the silent duress pin was activated.

I actually had to set it up for one person.

They gave graphene OS incentive to create a dummy UI.

[–] Fermion@mander.xyz 4 points 2 days ago (3 children)

I've been waiting for 512GB Pixel 10 pro to come back in stock. I have a feeling I'm going to have trouble getting one after this.

[–] blargh513@sh.itjust.works 11 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Just buy an older one. They're all the same. I buy the "a" versions of them after years of buying the best models I could get.

I can't say that there is any meaningful difference. I don't care about camera quality that much. Screens are all good now.

Flagship phones are a money grab. I have never had these things bog down or get slow.

[–] IamSparticles@lemmy.zip 0 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The A versions usually have a significantly slower processor and less memory, in addition to physical feature differences (smaller/lower resolution screen, smaller battery, different cameras, etc). That's probably not a deal-breaker for most people, but saying there are no meaningful differences is a little dishonest.

[–] blargh513@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago

I'm not saying they're not different. I'm saying that day-to-day, most people would probably never notice what they don't have.

yeah, great you have more moosepower, but for what?

[–] DanceMomsSavedMe@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 days ago

The battery is really the only difference. I'm still rocking a Pixel 7A with GOS on it and I swear its like I can just look at the battery and it drains 20% but for a 4 or 5 year old phone I can't complain there's pretty much no lag ever

[–] BlameTheAntifa@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I am waiting for the Motorola Graphene phones. Now that AI has fucked all technology on the planet for the foreseeable future, I am not sure if I will ever actually see one. Never mind own one.

[–] Anivia@feddit.org 2 points 2 days ago

I'm trying really hard to make it until the Motorola phone releases, but the battery on my S23 ultra is getting noticeably worse every month 😔 Might have to pick up a used Pixel in the meantime

[–] IAmYouButYouDontKnowYet@reddthat.com 7 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

I don't think they have grapgene for the 10s yet.

I'm holding out to see how things go with their new Motorola partnership. I don't really want to support Google at all.

If that doesn't work out for me I'm going for lineageos on a phone.

[–] NarrativeBear@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Just installed it a few days ago, and... then I activated the wipe pin because of this advertisement!

[–] unitedwithme@lemmy.today 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

So does it factory reset or completely wipe out requiring a reinstall of GOS?

[–] NarrativeBear@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

From what I understand it's a factory reset to the point you installed GrapheneOS.

I have not tested it as I just finished setting up my phone the way I like. Hopefully I don't need to use it.

Technically the government wiped his phone. We're done here.

[–] NatakuNox@lemmy.world 32 points 2 days ago

This is the best ad GrapheneOS could have asked for. Are they offering any support?

[–] einlander@lemmy.world 19 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Motorola is planning to make Graphene OS phones. https://motorolanews.com/motorola-three-new-b2b-solutions-at-mwc-2026/

It may make the is more mainstream, at least on the b2b side.

[–] who@feddit.org 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Motorola Mobility, a subsidiary of Lenovo Group Limited, China.

[–] Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago (1 children)

China isn't going to sell your information to the trump administration.

[–] natebluehooves@pawb.social 0 points 2 days ago (1 children)

the trump administration does not make every other terrible government automatically better.

[–] Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago

It's a matter of which is the more immediate threat to the user's personal safety, which very much depends on geography.

[–] ImgurRefugee114@reddthat.com 14 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I love grapheneos. Fun fact: I frequently swap my real and duress pins. I don't mean rotate. I mean swap. I've nuked my phone several times by accident just because I forgot what one was what at a given point in time. Think of it as disaster recovery validation; gotta regularly test your protocols otherwise they're useless. It's best to test under live circumstances I think, and without foreknowledge. Yep. Just part of the plan. Definitely didn't do it on accident twice and then decided to stick with it. The best part is that it gives me excellent plausible deniability. The worst part is I routinely lose my contacts list because I'm an actual idiot.

[–] PalmTreeIsBestTree@lemmy.world 9 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Sorry but wiping your phone that way several times accidentally is stupid

[–] partofthevoice@lemmy.zip 9 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Or, you know… just use that as the defense, but don’t actually do it.

[–] ImgurRefugee114@reddthat.com 6 points 2 days ago (1 children)
[–] IamSparticles@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Good attitude. I'd like to come over some time and help you test your smoke alarms.

[–] Librerian@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

And the mandatory follow-up test of the fire extinguishers (in a production environment, of course)

[–] toiletobserver@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago

His phone was obviously always empty, duh. Prove otherwise.