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Comment by deejaaymac | Hacker News Reader

>Lying to a fed

They asked for the pin, maybe they should have said "not the duress pin"

>Destroying evidence

How did they know there was any evidence on there?

>it exists for when compromising the device could get people the owner cares about killed or disappeared and the owner considers their own liability, disappearance, or death a preferable outcome.

No, the duress pin is there for when I'm under duress and being forced to unlock my device against my will

>It is an extreme solution for extreme scenarios

Wiping a device I own is extreme?

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> >Lying to a fed

> They asked for the pin, maybe they should have said "not the duress pin"

The law doesn't work like that. Unless you're provably at the developmental level of a 5 year old, the court knows you know what was required, and also knows what you intended when you gave the duress pin.

The justice system famously never plays "simon says"...

> They asked for the pin, maybe they should have said "not the duress pin"

This is a Mickey Mouse distinction no court will take seriously.

> Wiping a device I own is extreme?

When the consequences are potential years in prison for lying to the US government or, in another country, torture or death in prison for obstructing an authoritarian government, then yes... Extreme.

All I'm saying is to decide to use a duress PIN at any national border or in any foreign country soberly, with knowledge of the potential or likely consequences.

Just submit citizen. Nothing to hide, right?

That's a different discussion. Are you interested in staying out of trouble at the border? Or are you interested in taking down the system (or at least fixing it)?

If you think the system needs fixed or destroyed, you do you, but don't be surprised when that approach gets you in trouble at the border.

It's sad that your perfectly valid previous comment is dead (and that HN even works that way) ... adding is ≠ ought probably doesn't even help for the people who don't grasp that in the first place.

People who think that tricking the cops into wiping your device legally absolves you need to grow up. Also those who argue that LE can't prove any evidence was destroyed since it's been destroyed.

Yeah, but the way HN works is leagues ahead of other, similar platforms. And the top voted comment of a subthread (at that moment) being flagged is its own interesting signal about both the issue at hand and the HN userbase. I'll be grateful if reasonable folks vouch, but I'm not mad about it either way.

It's now undead.

> or, in another country, torture or death in prison for obstructing an authoritarian government

Also happens in the US

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