Supreme Court: Government Must Get Warrant For Smartphone Location Data

[xcvbn]

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/supreme-court-warrant-location-data,37349.html

The Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that law enforcement will no longer be able to access troves of smartphone information about citizens, such as carriers' location data, without a warrant.

Really interesting dissent by Gorsuch that makes me think he's gonna be a decent SC justice:

“What’s left of the Fourth Amendment? Today we use the Internet to do most everything. Smartphones make it easy to keep a calendar, correspond with friends, make calls, conduct banking, and even watch the game. Countless Internet companies maintain records about us and, increasingly, for us.

Even our most private documents—those that, in other eras, we would have locked safely in a desk drawer or destroyed—now reside on third party servers. Smith and Miller teach that the police can review all of this material, on the theory that no one reasonably expects any of it will be kept private. But no one believes that, if they ever did.”

Sometimes the dogs do get thrown a bone.

 

[luckyshot]

Already a thread.

 

[Lead]

I see why law enforcement would want everything in place to catch a criminal in a faster manner but there were checks put in place for a reason and it's their job to go through those steps. I always get annoyed when a bad event happens with clear negligence on the FBI/law enforcement's part and we still get the line that they need more unrestricted permissions.

 

[Lead]

Already a thread.

If you provide a link, I can merge it a little easier. I don't see it on the front page right now.

 

[luckyshot]

It’s something like: Damn liberals protect 4A. I’ll look for it.

Edit:
http://forums.sherdog.com/threads/damn-liberal-justices-protect-4a.3785523/

 

[xcvbn]

It’s something like: Damn liberals protect 4A. I’ll look for it.

Edit:
http://forums.sherdog.com/threads/damn-liberal-justices-protect-4a.3785523/

Shitty thread title. It should be merged with mine despite being first

 

[xcvbn]

I see why law enforcement would want everything in place to catch a criminal in a faster manner but there were checks put in place for a reason and it's their job to go through those steps. I always get annoyed when a bad event happens with clear negligence on the FBI/law enforcement's part and we still get the line that they need more unrestricted permissions.

It's a refreshing ruling but I do agree with Gorsuch that this isnt doing enough.

This is one of those things where inevitably it will help some bad people, but it's worthwhile for the greater good of the people.

 

[Lead]

It's a refreshing ruling but I do agree with Gorsuch that this isnt doing enough.

This is one of those things where inevitably it will help some bad people, but it's worthwhile for the greater good of the people.

I find it surprising how much Europe has done to push for privacy/rights in the digital era compared to the US. In this era, if you don't believe something stored online can be private, you essentially are saying there is far less to no privacy in this era and thus less rights.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

I find it surprising how much Europe has done to push for privacy/rights in the digital era compared to the US. In this era, if you don't believe something stored online can be private, you essentially are saying there is far less to no privacy in this era and thus less rights.

History was a big driving factor for the EU to treat privacy as a human right. As it should be. The US should follow suit. But won’t.

 

[xcvbn]

I find it surprising how much Europe has done to push for privacy/rights in the digital era compared to the US. In this era, if you don't believe something stored online can be private, you essentially are saying there is far less to no privacy in this era and thus less rights.

It's actually absurd what Google, Apple, Microsoft get away with and how much direct influence those companies have on these decisions. I dont think it's even far off to say that they're as close to being branches of government as you can get considering how closely they work/have worked.

Europe is definitely ahead of us in terms of protecting private data.

 

[Fawlty]

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/supreme-court-warrant-location-data,37349.html


Really interesting dissent by Gorsuch that makes me think he's gonna be a decent SC justice:


Sometimes the dogs do get thrown a bone.

Yet he doesn't think the cops had to get the warrant here...?

 

[Orgasmo]

Smoke and mirrors

Through Snowden's leaks, we already know the NSA/CIA/FBI have backdoor access to your electronic devices, messaging apps and email services. It's just that the local agencies must jump through the hoops to tap you.

 

[KILL KILL]

Smoke and mirrors

Through Snowden's leaks, we already know the NSA/CIA/FBI have backdoor access to your electronic devices, messaging apps and email services. It's just that the local agencies must jump through the hoops to tap you.

I was unaware of this. That's shitty.

 

[Dirt Road Soldier]

This is the correct decision. The 4th should cover ALL digital data stored by third parties, to the point where companies cant hand it over without a warrant unless they believe that time is of the essence in the investigation.

 

[xcvbn]

Yet he doesn't think the cops had to get the warrant here...?

It's all about what precedent he wants to set. In this case he must believe that it's better to dissent and deal with the immediate consequences in an effort to set a stronger precedent on a future case.

I disagree with that, but only because I think we need something for the time being. His heart's in the right place though so I'm not upset with his decision.

 

[xcvbn]

Smoke and mirrors

Through Snowden's leaks, we already know the NSA/CIA/FBI have backdoor access to your electronic devices, messaging apps and email services. It's just that the local agencies must jump through the hoops to tap you.

Ultimately this is true. No thanks to the few major tech/communications companies either.

Slightly related note: I think it's funny that we pay mobile companies a monthly fee so they can farm our phone data like text messages, phone calls, and location only to sell it to the highest bidder or provide to the government. Quite the fucking racket.

 

[HockeyBjj]

A win for the bill of rights in the Supreme Court. Today will end up a good day after all

 

[HockeyBjj]

Yet he doesn't think the cops had to get the warrant here...?

The below is from the article. Seems Gorsuch went against as he knew it would still pass 5-4 anyways and to make a point that the majority opinion still wasn’t restrictive enough for 4th amendment when it comes to online information. Hopefully this is a sign for more cases to be pushed to the Supreme Court and get more privacy rights back the gov has trampled all over


The newly appointed justice Gorsuch was one of the dissenters, but not because he wanted law enforcement to get cell-site location data without a warrant. Instead, he argued that the majority’s ruling didn't go far enough.

In his opinion, the standard of having a “reasonable expectation of privacy” in a given context sets the bar too low for Americans’ constitutional rights. Furthermore, even if users offer data voluntarily to third-parties, Gorsuch argued that it doesn’t mean the government can just come and take that data without a warrant, as the Fourth Amendment would still apply.