Canadians convicted of failure to provide a password for their smartphone at the airport

A resident of Quebec, Canada, is going to challenge in court a fine that was awarded to him for not providing a password to his smartphone at the airport of Canada. Airport employees requested a Canadian smartphone to check, the device itself was password-protected, and the owner was asked to provide a password. To this, a Canadian gave a refusal, arguing that all the data on the phone is private information, access to which he will not allow.

According to the law of Canada, for impeding border control officers to perform their functions, a fine is awarded in the amount of $ 1,000 to $ 25,000, with the possibility of depriving a violator of liberty for a term of one year. The authorities saw in the refusal to provide a password just hindering the performance of official duties. Accordingly, the Canadian was punished.
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According to laws adopted in some countries, border control officers have the right to inspect not only things, but also information in the personal devices of people - smartphones, tablets, laptops. If a person arouses suspicion, he and all his things may be subject to inspection.

True, in Canada there is no clear rule for the inspection of electronic devices, the law says about "property". Lawyers of the department believe that the definition of "property" includes phones, tablets and everything else that the user has with them. Now Canadians released on bail, but he will have to return to the courtroom on May 12, where the case will be continued.

And here an interesting moment arises - nowhere in the rules of customs inspection does not say that the user is obliged to provide the password to the electronic device. And a similar problem has never been considered in Canada’s court - it seems that a precedent will now be created for all such cases. If the judge decides that a Canadian is right, the authorities will not be able to demand a password from people crossing the border. If the judge decides that the employees of the relevant authorities are right, the password will have to be provided to everyone.