Florida Appeals Court Rules Fifth Amendment Bars Compelled Production Of iPhone passcode, iTunes Password

On October 24, 2018, the Florida Court of Appeal for the Fourth District ruled that the state could not compel the production of a defendant's iPhone passcode and iTunes password because doing so would violate the Fifth Amendment's protection against self-incrimination. The ruling in G.A.Q.L. v. State of Florida is encouraging for privacy advocates but may set up a showdown at the Florida Supreme Court, as it conflicts with a 2016 ruling from the Florida Court of Appeal for the Second District in which the court ruled that compelled production of a passcode did not violate the Fifth Amendment. The two pair of decisions highlights the variety of ways courts can choose to apply long-standing legal principles to new technology – and the resulting lack of predictability for practitioners.