Warrantless Cellphone Tracking Is Upheld

In a significant victory for law enforcement, a federal appeals court on Tuesday said that government authorities could extract historical location data directly from telecommunications carriers without a search warrant.

The closely watched case, in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, is the first ruling that squarely addresses the constitutionality of warrantless searches of historical location data stored by cellphone service providers. Ruling 2 to 1, the court said a warrantless search was “not per se unconstitutional” because location data was “clearly a business record” and therefore not protected by the Fourth Amendment.

The ruling is likely to intensify legislative efforts, already bubbling in Congress and in the states, to consider measures to require warrants based on probable cause to obtain cellphone location data.

The appeals court ruling sharply contrasts with a New Jersey State Supreme Court opinion in mid-July that said the police required a warrant to track a suspect’s whereabouts in real time. That decision relied on the New Jersey Constitution, whereas the ruling Tuesday in the Fifth Circuit was made on the basis of the federal Constitution. Read more >>

IRS: We can read emails without warrant

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has claimed that agents do not need warrants to read people's emails, text messages and other private electronic communications, according to internal agency documents.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which obtained the documents through a Freedom of Information Act request, released the information on Wednesday.

In a 2009 handbook, the IRS said the Fourth Amendment does not protect emails because Internet users "do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in such communications." A 2010 presentation by the IRS Office of General Counsel reiterated the policy.
Under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) of 1986, government officials only need a subpoena, issued without a judge's approval, to read emails that have been opened or that are more than 180 days old.

Privacy groups such as the ACLU argue that the Fourth Amendment provides greater privacy protections than the ECPA, and that officials should need a warrant to access all emails and other private messages. Read more >>

Obama administration: cellphone location data is not ‘constitutionally protected’

In a federal court Tuesday, the Obama administration claimed that Americans have absolutely no “reasonable expectation of privacy” concerning cellphone location data, thus enabling law enforcement to acquire detailed records of a user’s movements without even obtaining probable cause warrant.

This is just one of the many cases of the Obama administration fighting to hold on to unconstitutional powers such as warrantless wiretapping, the power to indefinitely detain Americans without charge or trial, and even their supposed right to refuse to explain why they believe they have the authority to assassinate Americans.

In court the administration cited a 1976 Supreme Court decision in the case United States v. Miller which essentially stated that documents like banking records are actually “third-party records,” thus removing any right to privacy. Read more >>

Who Owns Your Tweets?

Who owns your tweets? What about all that personal information you’ve given Twitter? Or tweets you deleted? Or drafts you saved? Those questions are the focus of a battle Twitter is waging with a New York State judge.

Twitter says that its users own their tweets, and all that personal information. The court says Twitter does, and should hand them over when subpoenaed. This week Twitter has filed an appeal to New York Supreme Court, the second time it’s filed a motion in this case. Bottom line: Twitter says that it makes it clear in its terms of services that users own their content and they have “a right to fight invalid government requests,” i.e. subpoenas.

Twitter’s appeal argues that users have a property right to the content they post and have a Fourth Amendment privacy right to their accounts. The company says that deleted Tweets are not public, and that Twitter accounts should have the same protection as personal email accounts. Read more >>

Ninth Circuit OKs Feds Use of Cellphone as Roving Bugs

The Ninth Circuit of Appeals ruled on July 20 that agents of the federal government may use a cellphone as a microphone and record the conversations overheard even when the phone itself is not being used otherwise. This frightening bit of judicial lawmaking came as part of the decision in the case of the United States v. Oliva, 2012 WL 2948542 (9thCir. July 20, 2012).

In its decision, the Ninth Circuit has upheld the lower court’s ruling, essentially allowing the federal government to convert cellphone into “roving bugs” so long as the government makes it clear that it will be using the target’s cellphone in that manner. Notice, the Ninth Circuit — a court created under the authority granted to Congress in Article III of the Constitution — did not throw out the matter as a violation of the defendant’s Fourth Amendment right against “unreasonable searches and seizures.” Instead, it simply informed  the government that it needs to get permission before doing so.

There are, of course, far reaching implications of such a decision. As we reported recently, a person will not know, and perhaps will never know, if he has been the target of surveillance on the part of the federal government. Assuming, as many a savvy American would, that the federal government is liable to eventually want to monitor and record your personal electronic communication, is there not an expectation that when the cellphone is off the surveillance is suspended? Read more >>

Where Is The Line For Revolution?

As difficult as it is to rationally gauge the exact moment or circumstance that triggers revolt, the intensity or build up to conflict can certainly be felt.  That pressure is tactile in America today, and is becoming difficult to ignore.  The reasons are obvious.  In the past 10 years alone elements of our government have cemented into place the “legal” framework to:

1. Detain U.S. citizens indefinitely without trial under the guise of enemy combatant status.
2. Assassinate U.S. citizens without trial and without due process under the law, including the very clear requirements of the treason clause.
3. Confiscate resources, including your private property, in the name of national security and preparedness.
4. Take control of or eliminate all communications networks including phone, radio, television, cell, internet, etc. in the name of national security.
5. Unleash a swarm of unmanned Predator Drones over our homes and towns to make mass surveillance of the public easier.  All without probable cause or the protections of the 4th Amendment.
6. Capture, collate, and monitor the communications of millions of citizens without probable cause or a warrant under the FISA domestic spy bill.
7. Declare martial law without congressional oversight and embed active serving military amongst the populace in a law enforcement capacity.  This includes the institution of Northcom, which is a standing military presence in the U.S. whose primary mission is to quell domestic dissent. Read more >>

U.S. Police Engage in Warrantless Electronic Tracking

A new study found that police all over the country routinely ignore the Fourth Amendment by tracking cell phones.

In fact, departments are ignoring the Fifth Amendment as well, because much of the tracking takes place without a warrant, according to the results of a survey issued in early April by the American Civil Liberties Union.

The survey found that "many" of about 200 departments surveyed said they tracked cell phones without being permitted to do so by a court. While some departments like Wichita, Kan., and North Las Vegas, get warrants first, others - such as the Kentucky State Police - "said they use varying legal standards, such as a warrant or a less-strict subpoena." More...