Courts Just Said Turning Location Services On Is Like Telling Police They Can Search You

[WhiteTara]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/courts-just-said-turning-location-172900568.html?nhp=1

The U.S. Constitution gives you a solid defense against police who would want to put a tracker on you and follow your location without a warrant. Now, they can just use the little tracker you bought yourself and already carry everywhere: your cell phone.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, put out a ruling with sweeping implications: Police can use months of cell phone location data obtained without a warrant simply by going to your service provider.

The recent history of Fourth Amendment law — most importantly the infamous 2012 Antoine Jones case — establishes that police officers cannot, say, put a GPS device on your car or body to follow your movements over an extended period of time.

But a little caveat called the "third-party doctrine," upheld by Tuesday's ruling, means they never have to.

[Delmette]

1. I just went to my cell phone settings.

The E911 (Emergency 911) can't be turned off. So there is no point in turning off the location service, right?

[bluesbassman]

5. Two different things.

E911 works even if your service is disconnected so you can make an emergency call and is not location dependent. GPS is for location applications.

[Delmette]

8. Thank you.

That's good to know.

[Festivito]

2. So, my private dealings with a private company are now owned by government....

to search and seize at will in an unwarranted fashion.

The private company that has a private agreement with me is now FORCED to give MY private data to ANYONE in government.

Am I guessing a Republican appointed judge -- again?

[truedelphi]

14. Don't ever forget how very very cozy all the arrangements are.

I mean, judging by how the librarians in Sausalito, Calif and also here in Lake County acted, I know that any list of the books I take out at the local library will be safeguarded.


But Amazon, owned by Jeff Bezos, doesn't care about my privacy or your privacy at all.

He actually went and bought the Washington Post and now has these very sweet little puff pieces on various politicians, as he doesn't want their feelings hurt. (And someone who basically bought the US Postal service through a sweetheart deal with Congress certainly doesn't want hurt feelings.)

And if the Feds or anyone high up in your state wants your list of books from Amazon, I can only imagine Bezos will be most happy to comply.

[Downwinder]

3. Need an app to relocate your phone.

[Journeyman]

4. So if an officer asks for your ID, and you provide it, he has authorization to search you . . .

since he now knows where you are?

[gratuitous]

7. Not just where you are right this moment

But where you've been for the last several weeks, because you blithely (or inadvertently or unknowingly) provided all that information to your cell phone service provider.

[annabanana]

6. We need to fill that hole on the bench!!. . .n/t

[LiberalFighter]

9. Wouldn't that be the same as the telephone book?

Your address in telephone book so by their logic that means police can go into your house?

[JDPriestly]

11. The police can track every location in which you made a telephone call in the past.

The telephone book provides your home and business addresses. And you now have the choice to have an "unlisted" number. You can't "enlist" the tracker on your phone.

Leave your phone at home if you don't want the police to know where you are when you make calls or at other times.

[blackspade]

10. Fuck. Authoritarians will do anything to spy on you these days.

That is why I always turn any location features off.

[Sophiegirl]

12. I always turn location services off

Usually to avoid ads, but now for this reason.

[Major Nikon]

13. Even if you turn off location services they can still track you

Just not as accurately.