E-tracking through your cell phone

[Clara T]

E-tracking through your cell phone
By Declan McCullagh, CNET News.com
Published on ZDNet News: February 13, 2006, 12:48 PM PT

Commentary--You may already know this, but your cell phone happens to be a miniature tracking device that can be used to monitor your location from afar.
There are times when knowing your exact location is useful, of course. It would be handy for a phone to help you find a gas station in a pinch, or bleep when you're about to take the wrong highway exit.
But the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice have seized on the ability to locate a cellular customer and are using it to track Americans' whereabouts surreptitiously--even when there's no evidence of wrongdoing.
A pair of court decisions in the last few weeks shows that judges are split on whether this is legal. One federal magistrate judge in Wisconsin on Jan. 17 ruled it was unlawful, but another nine days later in Louisiana decided that it was perfectly OK.
This is an unfortunate outcome, not least because it shows that some judges are reluctant to hold federal agents and prosecutors to the letter of the law.

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1035_22-6038770.html?tag=sas.email