Samuel Tunick, an Atlanta resident and activist, has been charged with a felony after using a special code to erase all data from his smartphone during a secondary inspection by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents. The incident occurred in early 2025 at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport following a trip abroad. Tunick has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which cite a statute prohibiting the destruction of property to prevent seizure.
During the inspection, CBP agents demanded access to Tunick’s Pixel phone, which was running GrapheneOS, a privacy-focused operating system. Agents stated they were searching for evidence of child sexual abuse and warned that the device would be confiscated if he did not unlock it. Tunick, who says he was denied legal counsel and never read his rights, provided a specific code known as a duress PIN. When entered, this feature irreversibly deletes all data and eSIMs from the device.
After the data was wiped, authorities confiscated the phone and allowed Tunick to leave. The US Department of Justice filed criminal charges against him in late 2025, accusing him of knowingly destroying digital contents prior to seizure. If convicted, Tunick faces up to five years in prison. His lawyers have filed a motion to suppress evidence, arguing the interrogation violated his constitutional rights and served as a pretext for a fishing expedition.
A rare legal strategy
Legal experts note that charging a traveler under 18 U.S.C. § 2232 for using a duress code is being examined as a potential new legal strategy. Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) experts stated they had never seen the law applied in this manner before, noting that most previous interactions ended with the government confiscating the device to attempt decryption later. Only one other prosecution under this statute was found, involving a drug trafficking investigation.
Tunick was involved with Defend the Atlanta Forest, a group opposing the construction of a law enforcement training facility known as Cop City. Before his indictment, Tunick described a year of surveillance, including vehicle tracking and subpoenas for his records. He was placed on a watch list, and DHS officers had called ahead to the airport requesting his detention, citing suspected terrorism activities, though agents found nothing during physical searches of his person and bags.
Conflicting court rulings on border searches
The case highlights inconsistent legal standards regarding device searches at the US border. While the border search exception generally allows CBP to inspect devices without a warrant, federal courts have issued conflicting rulings. The Ninth Circuit ruled that law enforcement can force biometric unlocks but not passcode entry, while the Fourth Circuit requires a warrant for forensic searches. The First Circuit allows both manual and forensic searches without a warrant. A federal judge in New York’s Eastern District recently ruled that CBP agents cannot conduct any device searches without a warrant.
Privacy experts advise travelers to back up and wipe devices before traveling rather than during interrogation. One expert noted: "A judge is not likely to view the use of a duress password sympathetically. Factory resetting your device in your personal time is well within your rights." A federal judge is expected to rule on Tunick’s motion to suppress evidence no earlier than the end of October.