Saturday, November 24, 2007

Cellphone Tracking Powers on Request

Via WashingtonPost.com -

Federal officials are routinely asking courts to order cellphone companies to furnish real-time tracking data so they can pinpoint the whereabouts of drug traffickers, fugitives and other criminal suspects, according to judges and industry lawyers.

In some cases, judges have granted the requests without requiring the government to demonstrate that there is probable cause to believe that a crime is taking place or that the inquiry will yield evidence of a crime. Privacy advocates fear such a practice may expose average Americans to a new level of government scrutiny of their daily lives.

Such requests run counter to the Justice Department's internal recommendation that federal prosecutors seek warrants based on probable cause to obtain precise location data in private areas. The requests and orders are sealed at the government's request, so it is difficult to know how often the orders are issued or denied.

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Moral of the Story - If you want to go somewhere secretly, leave your phone and don't take your toll tag. Make sure your tires don't have RFID in them and that your car doesn't have OnStar and on and on and on.

I think the following quote from the Sneakers (1992) describes it best...

Carl: So it's a code breaker.
Martin Bishop: No. It's THE code breaker. No more secrets...

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