Protecting Our Privacy From Gps

You most likely carry a tracking device everywhere you go. For those of us with GPS enabled cell phones, our locations (even when the phone is powered off) are being tracked by cell phone towers. Law enforcement wants to access this information without showing probable cause, however may have to obtain your private records by showing “probable cause” standard. At least this is what the 3rd US District Circuit Court of Appeals in Pennsylvania ruled in September 2010.

Protecting Our Privacy from GPS

Not all courts agree on this decision. Even though the Philadelphia-based 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a Justice Department argument that judges are required to issue orders giving the government access to the data, and just a month or so ago, the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals denied a similar government effort in a location privacy case, it is not so in California. On January 5, 2011, Supreme Court of California granted police the right to search a suspect’s cell phone without a warrant. See my blog, Supreme Court of California Allows Cell Phone Search. Of course this is just for pursuit of a suspect involved in a crime, right? But where does the line get drawn? With different courts coming to very different rulings, where is the actual law headed? Will our right of privacy be protected or batted around like a balloon on a string?

GPS enabled cell phones can be tracked even if the phone is not in use. The cell phone location is tracked by Cell Site Location Information (CSLI.) According to an article posted by Leota Bates, zwillgenblog.com, “CSLI is data derived from signals sent between cell towers and cellular telephones that can be used to identify the location of a particular telephone. Each cell tower in a provider’s network is equipped with radio intercepts that receive signals from cellular phones. Even when cellular phones are not in use they are continually registering their location with the closest cell towers so that the provider’s system can expedite service by sending incoming calls directly to that tower. This registration information can be stored by cellular phone providers for up to 18 months before it is deleted or anonymized.” This means that Big Brother is watching you, and your privacy is at risk.

There will certainly be more court appeals to come. Our civil liberties are at stake. Several “watch dog organizations” are monitoring the events carefully. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) say they are not opposed to law enforcement gaining access to the cell phone tracking records as long as it is done with a warrant.

“The fundamental problem here is the federal law governing this area was written in 1986, when cell phones were as large as your head,” says Catherine Crump, an attorney with the ACLU. “Here in 2011 everyone is struggling … to figure out how to apply this extremely outdated statutory scheme to technology that simply wasn’t contemplated at the time.” Ultimately, adds Bankston of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the uncertainty will continue until either the Supreme Court rules on the issue or Congress steps in and clarifies the law.

This is a watch and see situation. Most certainly we don’t want to turn a blind eye to our rights. I already feel like our lives are under much too much scrutiny by the government, don’t you? Big Brother IS watching, and breathing down our necks.

By: CellPlaza

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