Federal Appeals Court Says Warrant Required for GPS Tracking

[MikeFleming]

--Federal Appeals Court Says Warrant Required for GPS Tracking
(October 22, 2013)
The Third US Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that law enforcement officers must obtain a probable cause warrant before affixing GPS trackers to a suspect's vehicle. The is the first appeals court ruling since the January 2012 US Supreme Court ruling in United States v. Jones that affixing a GPS device to a suspect's vehicle constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment. The justices did not rule on whether the search was unreasonable and thus required a warrant. This recent case, United States v. Katzin, involved a GPS device attached to the vehicle of a suspect in a series of pharmacy robberies.
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9243444/Warrant_required_for_GPS_tracking_of_vehicles_court_rules?ta xonomyId=17
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/10/warrant-required-gps-trackers/

[Sick Puppy]

Now all we need to do is get the NSA under control...

[MikeFleming]

Now all we need to do is get the NSA under control... Then how would I know what you're web surfing for??

[Sick Puppy]

Then how would I know what you're web surfing for??

Mike, if they were monitoring my interweb, emails, or phone calls I would already be in jail...lol

[svslow]

I wonder if this applies to an alleged suspect's cell phone gps.

[MikeFleming]

I wonder if this applies to an alleged suspect's cell phone gps. No, it does not. No warrant is required - the "police" are not the ones doing the call phone data collection, that is all being done by the cell carrier and they freely volunteer it when asked.

This article specifically applies only to GSP tracking "devices" owned by LEO and placed on suspects vehicles without permission of the vehicle owner or driver/operator.

[svslow]

Interesting loop hole. Can't trust your cell provider with your personal information. Might as well lost all privacy since our medical records are up for grabs now.

[MikeFleming]

Might as well lost all privacy since our medical records are up for grabs now. As soon as you gave your med insurance company the "right" to view/share your records, all as lost. That was many decades ago, btw. You give them the right to view and share with anyone they deem necessary (including all "partners" to "determine eligibility and coverage") and the partners *they* share with do not have a privacy agreement with *you*. So the partners are free to share/sell all that data with anyone.

Which means they are free to share all of your medical history with present/future employers, life & auto insurance companies, credit reporting agencies, Lexus/Nexus, divorce lawyers, etc.

You want privacy? More to Europe. There is none here and afaict (as far as I can tell), never has been.

[svslow]

As soon as you gave your med insurance company the "right" to view/share your records, all as lost. That was many decades ago, btw. You give them the right to view and share with anyone they deem necessary (including all "partners" to "determine eligibility and coverage") and the partners *they* share with do not have a privacy agreement with *you*. So the partners are free to share/sell all that data with anyone.

Which means they are free to share all of your medical history with present/future employers, life & auto insurance companies, credit reporting agencies,Lexus/Nexus, divorce lawyers, etc.

You want privacy? More to Europe. There is none here and afaict (as far as I can tell), never has been.

thats pretty upsetting.