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US Justice Dept. Sued For Cellular Tracking Information
tpaudio writes "The ACLU and the EFF are suing the Department of Justice over how the government might be using GPS and location data from cell phones. With over 200 million Americans carrying cell phones, this could be pretty important for setting guidelines. We have already seen other frightening powers related to cell phones, such as 'cell mic tapping.'"
The ACLU press release is also available, and it contains links to the complaint and the Freedom of Information Act request. We've previously discussed instances of cell phone tracking in the US and elsewhere.
There already is a website dedicated to tracking spouses. http://www.sat-gps-locate.com/english/index.html
That somewhere in the Justice Dept. there's someone throwing a temper tantrum because someone took away their totally illegal advantage?
"Court decisions indicate that USAOs claim not to need probable cause to obtain real-time tracking information. News reports further suggest that some field offices are violating a Department of Justice 'internal recomendation' that 'federal procecutors seek warrants based on probable cause to obtain precise location data in private areas.'"
Don't make us get probable cause! Probable cause is for losers! And put the bumpers back into my bowling lanes!
I love it when my rights are seen as an inconvenience. (Though it's nice that someone has RECOMMENDED that probable cause be found.)
Seriously, they're law enforcement: finding probable cause IS THEIR JOB.
You don't need GPS to locate the phone. The phone continually handshakes with multiple cells to support handoff between cells, and the phone company can use that information to locate and track you.