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Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 13:19:09 EDT
Subject: ACLU: FBI used "dragnet"- style warrantless cell tracking
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June 22, 2010 9:37 AM PDT
ACLU: FBI used 'dragnet'-style warrantless cell tracking
by _Declan McCullagh_ (
http://www.cnet.com/profile/declan00/)
To nab a pair of men accused of robbing banks in Connecticut, court
documents show the FBI turned to a novel investigative technique last year:
warrantless monitoring of the locations of about 180 different cell phones,
court documents show.
The FBI obtained a secret order--it has not been made public--commanding
nine different telephone companies to provide federal police "with all cell
site tracking data and cell site locator information for all incoming and
outgoing calls to and from the target numbers."
But because the U.S. Justice Department did not obtain a warrant by
proving to a judge that there was probable cause to suspect criminal activity,
there's now a risk that the evidence from the location surveillance may be
tossed out of court as illegally obtained. (Here's a list (_PDF_
(
http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/ne/pdfs/ctd-04102509612.pdf) ) of the phone numbers
tracked.)
An attorney for Luis Soto, one of two brothers accused of stealing about
$90,000 from Webster Bank and New Alliance Bank, asked a Connecticut judge
on May 18 to suppress the location information, saying "the government
obtained information that could be used to track the movements and locate the
whereabouts at specific times of up to 180 people." That violates their
Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches, Soto said.
On Friday, the ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation submitted a
friend-of-the-court brief (_PDF_
(
http://www.aclu.org/files/assets/2010-6-18-USvSoto-AmiciBrief.pdf) ) agreeing with the defense. It says: "Because cell
site location information implicates an expectation of privacy that society
is prepared to recognize as reasonable, the Fourth Amendment requires that
the government obtain a warrant based on probable cause prior to
collecting this information."
This amounts to "dragnet" surveillance of the whereabouts of American
citizens not suspected of crimes, says Catherine Crump, an attorney with the
ACLU's speech, privacy, and technology program.
The Obama administration has argued that no search warrants are needed; it
says what's needed is only a_2703(d) order_
(
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/usc_sec_18_00002703----000-.html) , which requires law enforcement
to show that the records are "relevant and material to an ongoing criminal
investigation." Because that standard is easier to meet than that of a
search warrant, it's less privacy-protective.
In the Connecticut bank robbery case, the Justice Department has not yet
directly replied to Soto's motion. But earlier papers that prosecutors filed
say that "the government selected the numbers in its cell site order by
looking at the telephone numbers calling and being called by the known phone
numbers at or around the time of each robbery."
"For each call the records provide a cell tower number," the government's
brief says. "The cell tower number can then be looked up in other certified
records, which gives a latitude and longitude for the tower location. Then
any publicly available mapping tool (the government has used Google Maps)
can be used to find the location of the tower."
In that case, the Obama administration has argued that warrantless
tracking is permitted because Americans enjoy no "reasonable expectation of
privacy" in their--or at least their cell phones'--whereabouts. U.S. Department
of Justice lawyers say that "a customer's Fourth Amendment rights are not
violated when the phone company reveals to the government its own records"
that show where a mobile device placed and received calls.
Even though police are tapping into the locations of mobile phones
thousands of times a year, the legal ground rules remain unclear, and federal
privacy laws written a generation ago are ambiguous at best. The first federal
appeals court to consider the topic _heard oral arguments_
(
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10453214-38.html) in February in a case that could
establish new standards for locating wireless devices, but it has not yet ruled.
Not long ago, the concept of tracking cell phones would have been the
stuff of spy movies. In 1998's "Enemy of the State," Gene Hackman warned that
the National Security Agency has "been in bed with the entire
telecommunications industry since the forties--they've infected everything." After a
decade of appearances in "24" and "Live Free or Die Hard," location-tracking
has become such a trope that it was satirized in a _scene_
(
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3U2_o2yceo) with Seth Rogen from "Pineapple Express" (2008).
Not only civil liberties groups insist that warrants to track the
whereabouts of Americans--or at least their cell phones--are necessary. A
_coalition_ (
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-20001393-38.html) that formed in
March includes Google, Microsoft, AOL, eBay, Intel, Qwest, AT&T, and
conservative and libertarian groups including Americans for Tax Reform and the
Progress and Freedom Foundation.
CNET was the first to report on warrantless cell tracking in a _2005 news
article_
(
http://news.cnet.com/Police-blotter-Cell-phone-tracking-rejected/2100-1030_3-5846037.html) . In a subsequent Arizona case, agents from the
Drug Enforcement Administration tracked a tractor trailer with a drug
shipment through a GPS-equipped Nextel phone owned by the suspect. Texas DEA
agents have used cell site information in real time to locate a Chrysler 300M
driving from Rio Grande City to a ranch about 50 miles away. Verizon Wireless
and T-Mobile logs showing the location of mobile phones at the time calls
became evidence in a Los Angeles murder trial.
In reference to the Connecticut case, the ACLU's Crump added: "It's bad
enough when the government engages in targeted location tracking without a
warrant. It's much worse when the government appears to engage in mass
surveillance of so many people, and it highlights why it's so important that
courts closely monitor this surveillance and impose strict standards."
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ING-TOP: 0px" class=3Ddatestamp>June 22, 2010 9:37 AM PDT</DIV>
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DER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 3px">ACLU:=20
FBI used 'dragnet'-style warrantless cell tracking</H1>
<DIV style=3D"BACKGROUND-IMAGE: url(
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BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class=3Dauthor>by <A styl=
e=3D"TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN=
: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-=
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EXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0px" title=3D
http://www.cnet.com/profil=
e/declan00/ href=3D"
http://www.cnet.com/profile/declan00/">Declan McCullag=
h</A></SPAN><FONT class=3DApple-style-span color=3D#0066a0><SPAN style=3D"=
LINE-HEIGHT: 20px" class=3DApple-style-span><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
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px; MARGIN: 10px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: i=
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=3DpostBody>
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TH: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class=3D"cnet-image-div image-REGULAR float-rig=
ht"><IMG style=3D"TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDT=
H: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: in=
herit; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; VE=
RTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class=3D=
cnet-image alt=3D"" src=3D"
http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim//2010/06/22/08=
0319_fbi.jpg" width=3D184 height=3D138></DIV>
<DIV style=3D"TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 17px; BO=
RDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN: 15px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIG=
HT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: =
0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PAD=
DING-TOP: 0px">To=20
nab a pair of men accused of robbing banks in Connecticut, court documents =
show=20
the FBI turned to a novel investigative technique last year: warrantless=20
monitoring of the locations of about 180 different cell phones, court docum=
ents=20
show.</DIV>
<DIV style=3D"TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 17px; BO=
RDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN: 15px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIG=
HT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: =
0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PAD=
DING-TOP: 0px">The=20
FBI obtained a secret order--it has not been made public--commanding nine=
=20
different telephone companies to provide federal police "with all cell site=
=20
tracking data and cell site locator information for all incoming and outgoi=
ng=20
calls to and from the target numbers."</DIV>
<DIV style=3D"TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 17px; BO=
RDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN: 15px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIG=
HT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: =
0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PAD=
DING-TOP: 0px">But=20
because the U.S. Justice Department did not obtain a warrant by proving to =
a=20
judge that there was probable cause to suspect criminal activity, there's n=
ow a=20
risk that the evidence from the location surveillance may be tossed out of =
court=20
as illegally obtained. (Here's a list (<A style=3D"TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDI=
NG-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PA=
DDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTO=
M-WIDTH: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,67,127); FONT-SIZE: 12px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseli=
ne; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; CURSOR: pointer; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-DECORA=
TION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0px" title=3D
http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/ne/pdfs=
/ctd-04102509612.pdf href=3D"
http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/ne/pdfs/ctd-0410=
2509612.pdf">PDF</A>) of the=20
phone numbers tracked.)</DIV>
<DIV style=3D"TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 17px; BO=
RDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN: 15px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIG=
HT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: =
0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PAD=
DING-TOP: 0px">An=20
attorney for Luis Soto, one of two brothers accused of stealing about $90,0=
00=20
from Webster Bank and New Alliance Bank, asked a Connecticut judge on May 1=
8 to=20
suppress the location information, saying "the government obtained informat=
ion=20
that could be used to track the movements and locate the whereabouts at spe=
cific=20
times of up to 180 people." That violates their Fourth Amendment right to b=
e=20
free from unreasonable searches, Soto said.</DIV>
<DIV style=3D"TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 17px; BO=
RDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN: 15px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIG=
HT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: =
0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PAD=
DING-TOP: 0px">On=20
Friday, the ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation submitted a=20
friend-of-the-court brief (<A style=3D"TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0=
px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT:=
0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px=
; COLOR: rgb(0,67,127); FONT-SIZE: 12px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-L=
EFT-WIDTH: 0px; CURSOR: pointer; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-DECORATION: none; =
PADDING-TOP: 0px" title=3D
http://www.aclu.org/files/assets/2010-6-18-USvSo=
to-AmiciBrief.pdf href=3D"
http://www.aclu.org/files/assets/2010-6-18-USvSo=
to-AmiciBrief.pdf">PDF</A>)=20
agreeing with the defense. It says: "Because cell site location information=
=20
implicates an expectation of privacy that society is prepared to recognize =
as=20
reasonable, the Fourth Amendment requires that the government obtain a warr=
ant=20
based on probable cause prior to collecting this information."</DIV>
<DIV style=3D"TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 17px; BO=
RDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN: 15px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIG=
HT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: =
0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PAD=
DING-TOP: 0px">This=20
amounts to "dragnet" surveillance of the whereabouts of American citizens n=
ot=20
suspected of crimes, says Catherine Crump, an attorney with the ACLU's spee=
ch,=20
privacy, and technology program.</DIV>
<DIV style=3D"TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 17px; BO=
RDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN: 15px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIG=
HT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: =
0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PAD=
DING-TOP: 0px">The=20
Obama administration has argued that no search warrants are needed; it says=
=20
what's needed is only a<A style=3D"TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; =
BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px=
; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; CO=
LOR: rgb(0,67,127); FONT-SIZE: 12px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-=
WIDTH: 0px; CURSOR: pointer; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADD=
ING-TOP: 0px" title=3D
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/usc_sec_18_0000=
2703----000-.html href=3D"
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/usc_sec_18_=
00002703----000-.html">2703(d)=20
order</A>, which requires law enforcement to show that the records are "rel=
evant=20
and material to an ongoing criminal investigation." Because that standard i=
s=20
easier to meet than that of a search warrant, it's less=20
privacy-protective.</DIV>
<DIV style=3D"TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 17px; BO=
RDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN: 15px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIG=
HT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: =
0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PAD=
DING-TOP: 0px">In=20
the Connecticut bank robbery case, the Justice Department has not yet direc=
tly=20
replied to Soto's motion. But earlier papers that prosecutors filed say tha=
t=20
"the government selected the numbers in its cell site order by looking at t=
he=20
telephone numbers calling and being called by the known phone numbers at or=
=20
around the time of each robbery."</DIV>
<DIV style=3D"TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 17px; BO=
RDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN: 15px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIG=
HT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: =
0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PAD=
DING-TOP: 0px">"For=20
each call the records provide a cell tower number," the government's brief =
says.=20
"The cell tower number can then be looked up in other certified records, wh=
ich=20
gives a latitude and longitude for the tower location. Then any publicly=20
available mapping tool (the government has used Google Maps) can be used to=
find=20
the location of the tower."</DIV>
<DIV style=3D"TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 17px; BO=
RDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN: 15px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIG=
HT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: =
0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PAD=
DING-TOP: 0px">In=20
that case, the Obama administration has argued that warrantless tracking is=
=20
permitted because Americans enjoy no "reasonable expectation of privacy" in=
=20
their--or at least their cell phones'--whereabouts. U.S. Department of Just=
ice=20
lawyers say that "a customer's Fourth Amendment rights are not violated whe=
n the=20
phone company reveals to the government its own records" that show where a=
=20
mobile device placed and received calls.</DIV>
<DIV style=3D"TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 17px; BO=
RDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN: 15px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIG=
HT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: =
0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PAD=
DING-TOP: 0px">Even=20
though police are tapping into the locations of mobile phones thousands of =
times=20
a year, the legal ground rules remain unclear, and federal privacy laws wri=
tten=20
a generation ago are ambiguous at best. The first federal appeals court to=
=20
consider the topic <A style=3D"TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px;=
BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0p=
x; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; C=
OLOR: rgb(0,67,127); FONT-SIZE: 12px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT=
-WIDTH: 0px; CURSOR: pointer; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PAD=
DING-TOP: 0px" title=3D
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10453214-38.html =
href=3D"
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10453214-38.html">heard oral=20
arguments</A> in February in a case that could establish new standards=
for=20
locating wireless devices, but it has not yet ruled.</DIV>
<DIV style=3D"TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 17px; BO=
RDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN: 15px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIG=
HT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: =
0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PAD=
DING-TOP: 0px">Not=20
long ago, the concept of tracking cell phones would have been the stuff of =
spy=20
movies. In 1998's "Enemy of the State," Gene Hackman warned that the Nation=
al=20
Security Agency has "been in bed with the entire telecommunications industr=
y=20
since the forties--they've infected everything." After a decade of appearan=
ces=20
in "24" and "Live Free or Die Hard," location-tracking has become such a tr=
ope=20
that it was satirized in a <A style=3D"TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTT=
OM: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-R=
IGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH=
: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,67,127); FONT-SIZE: 12px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BOR=
DER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; CURSOR: pointer; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-DECORATION: n=
one; PADDING-TOP: 0px" title=3D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DY3U2_o2yce=
o href=3D"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DY3U2_o2yceo">scene</A> wit=
h Seth Rogen=20
from "Pineapple Express" (2008).</DIV>
<DIV style=3D"TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 17px; BO=
RDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN: 15px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIG=
HT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: =
0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PAD=
DING-TOP: 0px">Not=20
only civil liberties groups insist that warrants to track the whereabouts o=
f=20
Americans--or at least their cell phones--are necessary. A <A style=
=3D"TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN:=
0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-T=
OP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,67,127); FONT-SIZE: 1=
2px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; CURSOR: pointer; FON=
T-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0px" title=3D
http://ne=
ws.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-20001393-38.html href=3D"
http://news.cnet.com/830=
1-13578_3-20001393-38.html">coalition</A> that=20
formed in March includes Google, Microsoft, AOL, eBay, Intel, Qwest, AT&=
;T,=20
and conservative and libertarian groups including Americans for Tax Reform =
and=20
the Progress and Freedom Foundation.</DIV>
<DIV style=3D"TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 17px; BO=
RDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN: 15px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIG=
HT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: =
0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PAD=
DING-TOP: 0px">CNET=20
was the first to report on warrantless cell tracking in a <A style=3D=
"TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN: 0p=
x; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-TOP-=
WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,67,127); FONT-SIZE: 12px=
; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; CURSOR: pointer; FONT-W=
EIGHT: bold; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0px" title=3D
http://news.=
cnet.com/Police-blotter-Cell-phone-tracking-rejected/2100-1030_3-5846037.ht=
ml href=3D"
http://news.cnet.com/Police-blotter-Cell-phone-tracking-rejecte=
d/2100-1030_3-5846037.html">2005=20
news article</A>. In a subsequent Arizona case, agents from the Drug Enforc=
ement=20
Administration tracked a tractor trailer with a drug shipment through a=20
GPS-equipped Nextel phone owned by the suspect. Texas DEA agents have used =
cell=20
site information in real time to locate a Chrysler 300M driving from Rio Gr=
ande=20
City to a ranch about 50 miles away. Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile logs sho=
wing=20
the location of mobile phones at the time calls became evidence in a Los An=
geles=20
murder trial.</DIV>
<DIV style=3D"TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 17px; BO=
RDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN: 15px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIG=
HT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: =
0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PAD=
DING-TOP: 0px">In=20
reference to the Connecticut case, the ACLU's Crump added: "It's bad enough=
when=20
the government engages in targeted location tracking without a warrant. It'=
s=20
much worse when the government appears to engage in mass surveillance of so=
many=20
people, and it highlights why it's so important that courts closely monitor=
this=20
surveillance and impose strict=20
standards."</DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></SPAN>
<DIV style=3D"CLEAR: both"></DIV></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>
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Received on Sat Mar 02 2024 - 00:57:25 CST
