Samuel Tunick Faces 5-Year Federal Charge Over Airport Duress Passcode
Updated
Updated · ZDNet · Aug 3
Samuel Tunick Faces 5-Year Federal Charge Over Airport Duress Passcode
3 articles · Updated · ZDNet · Aug 3
Summary
Federal prosecutors charged Atlanta man Samuel Tunick after he allegedly entered a duress passcode during a January 2025 stop by Customs and Border Protection at Hartsfield-Jackson airport.
The code allegedly triggered a full wipe of his phone instead of unlocking it, leading to a charge under 18 U.S.C. § 2232 for destroying property to prevent lawful seizure.
GrapheneOS on Google Pixel phones is the only smartphone platform cited as offering this destructive duress-passcode feature, which erases user profiles, data and the eSIM partition by wiping encryption keys.
Tunick's lawyers are seeking to suppress the evidence on Fourth Amendment grounds, arguing the device was seized without a warrant; a ruling is expected later this year.
The case highlights a broader legal clash over privacy tools that can instantly destroy data, with similar device-access laws in Europe and recent German scrutiny of compelled biometric unlocking.