A 24-year-old British man has been sentenced to 14 months in prison for not giving up his Facebook password. The man is suspected of the murder of a 13-year-old girl. The police had twice asked for his credentials for the social network site, but the Brit refused to provide it.
Under the British Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa), the man was subsequently charged with not providing 'access codes to an electronic device'. The Ripa legislation gives UK investigative authorities the power to force people to give their password, encryption key or other log-in details to investigate an electronic device such as a telephone or computer, according to The Independent . The Ripa legislation was originally intended as an anti-terrorist measure, but the police can use it much more broadly, according to a British law firm. A maximum term of imprisonment of 5 years is imposed on not giving up a password.
The Briton told the judge that relinquishing his password would reveal information about cannabis. The judge called the defense "entirely inadequate" and stated that the man had thwarted the police investigation into the murder through his actions. The British police are trying to get access to the man's Facebook account through the US Department of Justice, the Daily Mail and The Sun report . In the past, people in the United Kingdom have more often been sentenced to prison terms for not relinquishing their login details.
