The Court focused on the unique nature of CSLI. The Court noted that “seismic shifts in digital technology” have made it possible to track all cellphone users “for years and years,” and that these location records are “detailed, encyclopedic, and effortlessly compiled,” providing police with “access to a category of information otherwise unknowable.” According to the Court, cell phone tracking, like GPS monitoring, “is remarkably easy, cheap, and efficient compared to traditional investigative tools.” Relying on prior case law holding that “individuals have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the whole of their physical movements,” the Court concluded that individuals have a reasonable expectation of privacy in certain CSLI records.
The majority reached that conclusion based on the determination that such location records are subject to a reasonable expectation of privacy that continues to apply even though the location records are disclosed to the cell phone user’s wireless carrier, a third party. In a landmark 5-4 decision, the United States Supreme Court held that the government conducts a search under the Fourth Amendment and therefore, absent exigent circumstances, needs a warrant supported by probable cause when obtaining cell-site location information (CSLI) (i.e., records of the cell towers to which mobile devices connect). Supreme Court Holds that Historical Cell Site Location Data Is Subject to a Reasonable Expectation of Privacy Timothy Tobin, James Denvil and Shee Shee Jin Posted in Consumer Privacy, Privacy & Security Litigation Supreme Court Holds that Historical Cell Site Location Data Is Subject to a Reasonable Expectation of Privacy Posted on June 26th, 2018 By
0 kommentar(er)
