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Feds Order Google To Hand Over A Load Of Innocent Americans' Locations
Here's how it works: cops send Google specific coordinates and timezones within which crimes were committed. Then Google is asked to provide information on all users within those locations at those times, most likely including data on many innocent people. Those users could be Android phone owners, anyone running Google Maps or any individual running Google services on their cell, not just criminal suspects.
[...] "This fishing expedition infringes on the privacy rights of so many possible people who had the misfortune of being in an area where a crime is alleged to be committed," said Jerome Greco, staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society. "We should not allow for such broad access to the data of so many on the mere speculation that a suspect may have used a cellphone near the location of the crime."
[...] Not just Google
Captain John Sherwin of the Rochester Police Department in Minnesota said it wasn't just Google that could furnish cops with a startling mount of detailed location data. Facebook and Snapchat were two others who'd proven useful, he said.
Should we be concerned that government tracks people by their cell phones instead of using mandatory brain implants?
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Mykl on Thursday October 25 2018, @01:27AM (1 child)
You can absolutely see how this information would be useful to police and, used with good intent, would greatly assist in finding the 'bad dudes'.
A pity that the police force has shown that the regularly struggle with the 'good intent' bit. Oh, and that pesky privacy thing.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 25 2018, @11:57AM
The problem is that you can be labeled a "bad dude" by appearing in this data. Then it's simply a matter of law enforcement working backwards to find some way to tie you to any crime. DAs are measured by the number of convictions, not by the number of real criminals they lock up.