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GrapheneOS says its privacy protections are constitutional as case proceeds
The first US prosecution tied to GrapheneOS features involves Atlanta activist Samuel Tunick, who faces up to five years in federal prison after a duress code allegedly wiped his Google Pixel during a warrantless border search in January 2025.
Privacy software firm GrapheneOS says its smartphone operating system is “completely legal” and constitutionally protected as a first US prosecution tied to one of its features moves through the courts, Decrypt reports.
The project argues it has no obligation to weaken its security protections, adding that laws requiring it to do so would be unconstitutional. It also says key material can be wiped after a duress code is entered, and that once that occurs “there’s nothing we can do to assist with it,” with bypassing encryption not possible by design.
The case centers on Atlanta activist Samuel Tunick, who is charged under 18 U.S.C. § 2232 after allegedly entering a duress code that wiped his Google Pixel during a warrantless border search in January 2025. Tunick has pleaded not guilty and faces up to five years in federal prison, and a judge is expected to rule on his motion to suppress no earlier than the end of October.
Tunick told 404 Media the charges are meant to deter others from protecting their data, describing the prosecution as intended to “intimidate people” and set a privacy precedent. His public defender, Matthew Dodge, said agents could have sought a warrant and did not, and that DHS officers called ahead to the airport to request Tunick be stopped and his phone searched.