Court rules search warrants needed for private cellphones of convicts

Password-protecting your cell phone could be a stronger defence against prying eyes than you thought.

Ontario’s Court of Appeal recently ruled that police should obtain a search warrant to look through an arrested person’s cell phone upon – but only if the phone is password protected or locked.

However unlocked cell phones are fair game, according to the courts.

The ruling was released Wednesday in response to an appeal from a man arrested and convicted for robbing a jewellery stall in Toronto in 2009.

According to The Canadian Press, Kevin Fearon appealed his conviction because police searched his cell phone and found pictures and texts linking him to the crime.

Rules already exist preventing police from examining someone’s personal computer without a search warrant.

Flickr Photo by: a. drain

STORY WRITTEN BY: ALYSSA TREMBLAY