Who's buying cell phone records online? Cops

[Rose Siding]

A congressional panel investigating the fraudulent acquisition and sale of mobile phone records by Internet Web firms has collected evidence that indicates law enforcement officials at the local, state and federal levels use the Internet-based services as an investigative short-cut, MSNBC.com has learned. At least one Web-based data seller has told Congress that the FBI is a client.

The phone records are generally acquired by the resellers through fraudulent means and would not be admissible in court as evidence, but they are still helpful as an investigative tool, say officials familiar with the investigation.

The alleged use of the customer records by law enforcement officials could raise legal and ethical questions, as it would circumvent due process and years of established laws protecting consumers from random eavesdropping on electronic communications.
...
FBI says it looks to private firms for help
As part of its inquiry, the committee has asked dozens of Web sellers to reveal their customers lists. MSNBC.com has viewed one such list, and spoken with several other data sellers.

One seller, Advanced Research Inc., which operates ADVSearch.com, told the committee that it has sold data to the FBI.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12534959/

[elehhhhna]

1. warrant? we don't need no stinkin' warrant.

[0007]

7. Any person protesting junior's government must be a pervert

or at least a pedophile.

[kath]

9. Don'cha know? -- Warrants are now obsolete. Like the Geneva Conventions.

[MikeNearMcChord]

2. (To the theme, Our country Tis of thee) My country , distrusts me

I lost my Liberty,
To the Dimson King.

Land where our Freedom Died
an the Constitution Fried

From every Moutainside
Hail our Dimson King.
:evilfrown:

[niyad]

4. sad, but oh so very true. welcome to DU!!

[dipsydoodle]

3. Big bro'

is watching yo'

So beware.

[savemefromdumbya]

5. What are they looking for in the phone records?

[Rose Siding]

6. Anything cops ever look for in phone records

Personal info, associates, the location of users. They've just found a way to do it without needing any legal standard of cause at all.

[saigon68]

8. Donut shops that you frequent

[savemefromdumbya]

11. I knew it

[saigon68]

15. LOL

[gatlingforme]

10. The cops are the same as anyone else who would be looking

for information. I am not sure why some see cops as morally better than anyone else, they are the same as any cross section of society as any other organization. you have your pedaphiles, sexual predators, muderers in any organization as you would in any society as a whole. That they sould be held to a higher standard is a myth ....

[Jazz2006]

13. I have to disagree.

Not disagreeing with your assertion that cops are not morally superior to anyone else - they aren't. (Some would even say that, collectively, they are so morally corrupt and/or bankrupt that they don't even rise to the median level expected among decent human beings. Not that I'm saying that but the thin blue line mentality is pretty ugly at times.)

But when acting in an official capacity as an arm of the state, they ARE required to adhere to certain standards, including standards of evidence, the rule of law, and all manner of constitutional standards.

[bamacrat]

12. My friends mother in law

She is a psycho, she plants underwear and gets everyone in their family to hate him.

[radfringe]

14. even if congress passes a law that

addresses this and reinforces the need for a warrant -- bush* will just whip out a 'signing statement' and exclude himself

this could also explain why he's never vetoed a bill - he doesn't have to, he just excludes himself from what another president would have vetoed

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

16. We Don't Need No Stinkin' Warrants! nt

[toopers]

17. Where is the ACLU on this?

This has been an issue for several months.