The Film noir ArchivesSupreme Court ruled 5-4 today that police cannot freely access people's cellphone location data, regardless if they are suspected for a crime.
Police have always needed court-approved warrants before searching people's phones (due to the search and seizure protections under the Fourth Amendment), but they routinely breeched that protocol by accessing data from wireless carriers without a court's permission.
Phone privacy rights — from wiretaps to location data — have long been debated in the courts, so today's ruling is a symbolic win for privacy advocates and somewhat of an upset for law enforcement.
Although the narrow ruling restricts what information law enforcement may use, the precise wording of today's decision still provided wiggle room for them because it only stipulates that a warrant is generallyrequired.
SEE ALSO: ACLU: Tracking Your Cellphone Location Should Require a Warrant"We decline to grant the state unrestricted access to a wireless carrier's database of physical location information," wrote Supreme Court leader John Roberts in the decision.
"In light of the deeply revealing nature of (cell site location information), its depth, breadth, and comprehensive reach, and the inescapable and automatic nature of its collection, the fact that such information is gathered by a third party does not make it any less deserving of Fourth Amendment protection."
Timothy Carpenter, the winner in today's years-long case, was sentenced to more than 100 years for an armed robbery based on the information police gathered from his phone without a warrant. A jury found him guilty after they determined his involvement in the crime by identifying which cell towers Carpenter's phone pinged.
The police didn't have enough evidence to convict Carpenter before obtaining the warrants, since he did not commit the armed robbery — Carpenter coordinated.
He, therefore, worked with the ACLU to say that the information gathering breeched his privacy and took it all the way to the Supreme Court last year.
But he isn't the first person to bring this concern to the judicial system. It goes all the way back to the 1970s, when Smith v. Maryland appeared in the country's High Court.
That case swung the other way, however, where the justices ruled that people have no expectation of privacy when their data is already given to a third party. And how times have changed since then — think of it like how we give our information to Facebook and how Cambridge Analytica then accessed that data.
The more conservative justices who voted against restricting what information police could access feared that it impeded investigations and extended the reasonable expectation of privacy too far.
"I share the Court's concern about the effect of new technology on personal privacy, but I fear that today's decision will do more harm than good," wrote Justice Samuel Alito in the decision document.
"The Court’s reasoning fractures two fundamental pillars of Fourth Amendment law, and in doing so, it guarantees a blizzard of litigation while threatening many legitimate and valuable investigative practices upon which law enforcement has rightfully come to rely."
Other cellphone privacy lawsuits include United States v. Jonesin 2005, Commonwealth v. Connollyin 2017, and State v. Earlsin 1982, which all ruled that police need a court-approved warrant before putting location trackers on people and Riley v. Californiain 2014, which said police needed a warrant before searching the contents of someone's phone.
Topics Cybersecurity Privacy Politics Supreme Court
NYT Strands hints, answers for May 18
MIT's robot army trains together in a video that will mess you up
Scientists find new link between sugar and Alzheimer's
10 terrifying kid face swaps to keep you up at night
The Best Gaming Concept Art of 2016
15 gift ideas for your extremely online friend
10 terrifying kid face swaps to keep you up at night
Ambrosia disregards the FDA and re
Best Samsung deal: Save $60 on 64GB Samsung Galaxy Tab A9
Don't be fooled, Twitter is still a hellscape
How to Easily Make iPhone Ringtones Using Only iTunes
Roku thinks your remote needs a remote, so here's a new Apple Watch app
You've never seen button
People would rather get peed on than support Trump? Pretty much.
Best robot vacuum deal: Get the Shark Matrix Plus 2
Don't be fooled, Twitter is still a hellscape
10 Disney Channel Original Movies worth streaming on Disney+
Ambrosia disregards the FDA and re
Bomb Envy
Uber CEO downplays murder of Jamal Khashoggi as 'mistake,' then backtracks
Twitter now lets select users make money off of videosThe Moto Z Play Droid is a more affordable modular phoneKanye West tweets that McDonald's is his favorite brandFun Disney content is on its way to NetflixJapan loves this purple potato ice creamThe OLED BurnSelena Gomez to take time off from her career after struggles with lupusA record number of girls are unhappy with their appearance and life overallScientists find unusual donut shapes hiding behind the Great Barrier ReefA free online university course will teach you Mars survival skillsSuper fun Force Band gives you JediThis little dog is a bigger soccer fan than youThe 'Stranger Things' kids are adorableOh the Bachmanity! You can now rent the Aviato SUV from 'Silicon Valley.'ZTE Axon 7 mini is a cheaper, smaller version of the company's flagshipPhotos: Tons of tomatoes fly through the air at the world's biggest food fightMexican president says he told Trump that Mexico won't pay for the wallUnprecedented census confirms staggering decline in African elephant populationsGrab ties up with traditional cab company to edge out UberPredictably, Tim Cook had some strong thoughts on EU's tax ruling Chinese chatbots are revolting against the Communist Party These towels are basically boob hammocks for all your underboob sweat needs There's a hidden vibrator in 'Tacoma' and here's why that's important 12 Chrome extensions that are pretty much guaranteed to improve your inbox NBC announces plan to create more opportunities for female directors Silicon Valley luminaries are busily preparing for when robots take over 'Game of Thrones': What is the deal with Bran Stark? NASA has party tips to make this the best solar eclipse This plane pattern is so meta it hurts Google Pixel phones get cheaper ahead of Pixel 2 launch University gets an 'F' in spelling for this massive water tower typo Get schwifty with this 'Rick and Morty' GIF and meme maker 3 things to kill before they kill your creativity Sean Spicer turned down 'Dancing with the Stars' because he is apparently too busy 'The Dark Tower': Review roundup This Apple leak is like nothing we've ever seen before Swineapple is the most extra thing to happen to food since pineapple on pizza Game of Thrones: Is Jaime dead after that episode 4 cliffhanger? Facebook is bringing Stories to desktop, too The Navy SEAL movie of summer has disappeared. Poof. Gone.
1.3542s , 8225.8671875 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【Film noir Archives】,Fresh Information Network