It probably comes as no surprise to anyone that our country and the world have become increasingly dependent on the use of cell phones. In the year 2018, cellphones and the services they provide are such an insistent part of daily life that carrying one is indispensable to participation in modern society. The convenience these devices offer for communication and intelligence in a rapidly changing society is immeasurable; the accessibility of information such as news, social media sites or the weather through apps at your fingertips. But at what cost? Many people don’t realize that these apps and websites are constantly tracking your location. While that may be convenient when you’re searching for the top-rated restaurant in your part of town, it could also lead to multiple legal ramifications on your behalf. The United States Supreme Court recently held on June 22, 2018, in a tight 5-4 decision, that police need a warrant to gather a person’s phone location data as evidence for trial because doing so constituted a search under the 4th Amendment of the United States Constitution and infringes upon one’s expectation of privacy. The case was titled Carpenter v. United States and it is incredibly influential because it was the first case about accessing phone location data that the Supreme Court has ruled on. Prior to this ruling, law enforcement had been retracing cell-site location information (CSLI) of Mr. Carpenter in an attempt to retrace his steps and place him at the scene of a crime. While Mr. Carpenter’s case dealt specifically with a crime, different branches of law enforcement have been previously using this tool for additional purposes as well, receiving location data from numerous citizens’ cellular service providers. Justice Roberts authored the Court’s opinion stating that “having found that the acquisition of Carpenter’s CSLI was a search, we also conclude that the Government must generally obtain a warrant supported by probable cause before acquiring such records.” Justice Roberts went further stating that “because location information is logged for all of the 400 million devices in the United States – not just those belonging to persons who might happen to come under investigation – this newfound tracking capacity runs against everyone.” Therefore, while this is a very new and underdeveloped area of law, and narrow as it pertains only to cell-site location, going forward, law enforcement will be forced to acquire a probable cause warrant before being able subpoena Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, etc. and access your cellular location data. This is clearly a landmark decision regarding privacy rights and a win for those who hold their privacy rights dear.
Is your cell phone information really private? The U.S. Supreme Court Recently Held that it is…Sort of.
