Court Says Gov't May Need To Get A Warrant To Get Cell Phone Location Data

from the well,-it's-a-start dept

Wed, Sep 8th 2010 6:07pm — Mike Masnick

Considering that our government has regularly abused requirements for oversight and due process in getting private data about people, it's always nice to see the courts push back at least some of the time. The latest is that an appeals court has ruled that a court can deny the government's request for cell phone location data if the government fails to show probable cause. The ruling isn't a total win. It does reject the magistrate judge's original ruling blocking the release of the data. However, it does say that the law doesn't require the courts to approve such requests, as the government believes. Still, it's good that the court at least realizes that courts may reject such requests:

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Filed Under: 4th amendment, mobile phone data, privacy