Big Tech and State Collaborate on Unreasonable Searches

America Out Loud

Most of us walk around with tracking devices (phones) on us while being watched by a myriad of cameras. We know that government actors search these records about us pretty freely, but is it legal? A recent case out of the California Court of Appeals took a look at one such warrant. You may find the court’s opinion very interesting. Who knows, this may be the start of pushing back against the collaboration between Big Tech and State.

For those who may not be familiar with the term, a geofence warrant is a request, generally by law enforcement, for the location data for all devices within a defined area during a defined time. Think of the mapping software so many of us use. Imagine you’re looking for a place to meet up with friends for lunch. You put a marker in the general area you want to meet, then ask the software for a list of restaurants within 10 miles of that location. You have created a geofence (within 10 miles of your selected location), and you are asking for a list of known restaurants within that geofenced area. Now imagine law enforcement places their own marker near the scene of a crime or other place of interest, and they want a list of all of the cellphones within a certain distance of that marker for a timeframe related to a crime. Now, instead of using mapping software, they reach out to one of the many tech companies that collect location data from the apps on your phone for that list. That request would come in the form of a geofence warrant, meaning a judge would have to look at the request and determine if it meets all the requirements listed in the Fourth Amendment.

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