US authorities are now accusing Tunick of destroying evidence, according to The Guardian. Border officials reportedly searched his device for evidence of child pornography. They therefore attempted to unlock and search the device, which Tunick successfully prevented.
In reality, the authorities allegedly targeted the American because he was on a terrorism watchlist. This classification is said to stem from the fact that Tunick had ties to a protest movement that had demonstrated against a police training center in Atlanta. Yet, according to Tunick’s lawyers, the officers did not have a search warrant.
How did he delete the data?
As mentioned at the beginning, Tunick used an alternative operating system called GrapheneOS on his Google Pixel smartphone, which has special security features. One of these is the ‘Dwang PIN’, a kind of emergency PIN. This will ensure that the device is not unlocked, but instead deletes all data.
Chris Martin / Foundy
After authorities repeatedly asked for his smartphone’s PIN code and Tunick refused to consult a lawyer, he decided to use the ‘Densory PIN’ feature. Presumably out of fear that the device would otherwise be confiscated. When the “Duress PIN” (instead of the correct PIN) was entered, the screen went black, flashed several times and the phone appeared to restart, but in the process all personal data was deleted.
GrapheneOS is currently only available for Google Pixel smartphones, but will become available to more manufacturers in the future. In the past, Spanish police authorities had specifically targeted users of Google Pixel devices, as drug dealers – especially in Catalonia – had apparently taken advantage of the feature to evade investigations.
Still, it seems excessive to place Pixel smartphone owners under general suspicion on this basis. Experts criticize the fact that GrapheneOS can be classified as ‘standard criminal’. Everyone has the right to protect their private information from searches.
