They're making a huge mistake authoritative often do. You have to give people something to lose. If the minimum of resistance leads to the maximum punishment, then it doesn't encourage people not to resist, it encourages them to go further because they're already being punished as much as they can be. This is going to radicalized a lot of people. May all the protesters be safe.
With regard to turning off biometrics, a phone will require password after startup. There may also be a keypress available to lock the phone and require password to unlock. The reason you want that is because lkaw enforcement can legally force you to unlock your phone with biometrics, but they can't legally force you to give up your password.
I am fully aware that the word "legally" is doing a lot of heavy lifting there.