Government can’t force people to unlock phones using facial recognition, fingerprints: US federal judge

A mobile phone with a map app open. (Dreamstime/TNS)

A federal judge in Oakland ruled that law enforcement agencies cannot force people to use biometric features such as facial-recognition to unlock their phones and other devices in a case that highlights the fight between Big Tech and law enforcement over users' privacy. 

The decision arose out of an extortion case in which two suspects allegedly used Facebook Messenger to threaten that if a man didn't give them money, they would distribute embarrassing video of him.