Court allows cell phone tracking without a warrant
Summary
Topics
The FBI and other police agencies don't need a search warrant to track the locations of Americans' cell phones, a federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday in a precedent-setting decision.
In the first decision of its kind, a Philadelphia appeals court agreed with the Obama administration that no search warrant--signed by a judge based on a belief that there was probable cause to suspect criminal activity--was necessary for police to obtain logs showing where a cell phone user had traveled.
A three-judge panel of the Third Circuit said (PDF) tracking cell phones "does not require the traditional probable-cause determination" enshrined in the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits government agencies from conducting "unreasonable" searches. The court's decision, however, was focused on which federal privacy statutes apply.
For more on this story, read Court allows warrantless cell location tracking on CNET News.
Talkback Most Recent of 5 Talkback(s)
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Sad day for Americans...
This is a sad day for the Constitution AND America. Shame on these judges and the Obama Administration.
JT828th Sep 2010 -
RE: Court allows cell phone tracking without a warrant
@JT82
I agree. I am all for getting criminals but I see this so being abused. They can make up probable cause on almost anyone.
bobiroc8th Sep 2010 -
Police agencies still have to show relevance.
Reading the CNet report, once you get past the sensationalistic headlines, you read that investigators still have to prove relevance to the case. While it is a touchy subject, it's a bit soon to jump to conclusions that the 4th Amendment has been abolished, not yet anyhow.
The other thing to keep in mind, this capability has been available for 20 years or so. This is not a new topic, and to blame one administration and not any previous presidential administrations is just more "National Enquirer" reporting. I value my privacy as much, maybe even more than, the average person. How many times have you had to suffer through hearing about someone else's boring personal life because they are jaw-jacking on their cellphone? Privacy...go find a phone booth.
wizard57m@...8th Sep 2010 -
RE: Court allows cell phone tracking without a warrant
Calm down. Don't do anything illegal and it won't matter.
This is only to be used to follow drug dealers and the such, as the person above me stated, they still have to show cause.
Droid1018th Sep 2010 -
RE: Court allows cell phone tracking without a warrant
@Droid101
My only concern is the crooked FBI agents and Police. It may not be a huge issue but I can still see this being abused.bobiroc8th Sep 2010
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