A federal magistrate judge in New York recently decree that cell phone location data deserves no protection under the Fourth Amendment and that accordingly , the governance can engage in literal - time location surveillance without a hunt indorsement . In an opinion directly from the Twilight Zone , magistrate justice Gary Brown ruled two weeks ago that “ electric cell telephone set users who run out to wrick off their cell headphone do not present an anticipation of privacy . ”
The guinea pig in enquiry involved a physician who the DEA believe had issued thou of prescriptions for pain killers in central for cash . In March of this yr , the DEA had obtained a warrant for his check , and , not know where he was , sought an order from magistrate judge Brown thrust the phone fellowship to allow real - time data identifying the location of the physician ’s earpiece .
Although the DEA agents requested a search sanction and the judge regain that there was likely drive to trust that the cell headphone location data would assist in the locating and apprehension of an mortal for whom there was already a valid collar warranty , the judge later bring out a30 - page opinionfurther put forward that he did n’t think the government ask to seek a search warrant in the first blank space .
Do n’t Want the Government Tracking You ? Turn Your Phone Off
In his puzzling opinion , the judge squarely pick apart people naive enough to have a bun in the oven privacy while also leaving their cell phones on when they ’re not using them .
give the ubiquity and celebrity of geolocation technologies , an mortal has no legitimate expectation of privateness in the prospective locating of a cellular telephone where that someone has fail to protect his privacy by taking the unproblematic expedient of powering it off .
…
As to control by the user , all of the known trailing technologies may be defeated by merely turning off the phone . Indeed — turn out apathy or inattention — the only rationality that user impart cellular telephone phones turned on is so that the machine can be situate to welcome calls . Conversely , individuals who do not require to be disturbed by undesirable telephone calls at a particular time or place just sour their telephone off , know that they can not be located .
The Catch-22 here is that the only multitude who the judge believe would have any reasonable expected value of privacy are those whose phones are turned off ( and thus , not generating any location datum that the government could get at , even with a warrant ) . And it ignores the necessary of keeping your cell phone change state on for communicate with family unit or for employment .
That consumer are dumb enough to willingly divvy up their emplacement using the “ Girls Around You ” app ( which the judge specifically telephone out by name ) , only further justify covert , warrantless political science surveillance :
give the ill fame surrounding the revealing of geolocation datum to retailer provision soap pulverisation and blue jeans to shopping center shoppers , the police searching for David Pogue ’s iPhone and , most alarmingly , the creators and exploiter of the Girls Around You app , prison cell phone users can not realistically flirt with the whim that such information would ( or should ) be withhold from Union jurisprudence enforcement agentive role look for for a fugitive .
This is , in a parole , ridiculous . There is a prominent difference between location information you wittingly share with a select group of acquaintance ( or , in fact , the world ) and information collected about you without your knowledge or consent . Someone might be well-chosen to share their positioning with a few friends by “ checking in ” using Foursquare while at a music fete , but not need law enforcement to access that same data . And , they would still reasonably wait that their location a hebdomad subsequently while at an Alcoholics Anonymous get together or abortion clinic should stay private . Sharing location information is n’t and should n’t be all or nothing .
We are also baffled by the justice ’s willingness to tie a reasonable expectation of privateness to the economic consumption of a cellphone power button . We ’re not sure if the jurist has determine the Onion’sspoof newsvideo describe a fictitious “ Google Opt Out Village ” for masses who do n’t require to be tracked by the advertising ship’s company , but the system of logic in his opinion is consistent with the absurdity of that put-on . If you do n’t want Google to track you , stop using all forward-looking technology and move to a outback settlement . If you do n’t want the government to covertly tag your telephone , turn it off and depart it off . What could be simpler , right ?
republish with genial permit fromthe American Civil Liberties Union . Image : Brian A Jackson / Shutterstock
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