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Cellular User Privacy at Risk
If you own a cell phone, you should care about the outcome of a case scheduled to be argued in federal appeals court in Philadelphia tomorrow. It could well decide whether the government can use your cell phone to track you -- even if it hasn't shown probable cause to believe it will turn up evidence of a crime.
The American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Center for Democracy and Technology will ask the court to require that the government at least show probable cause before it can track your whereabouts.
Although most people don't realize it, cell phones double as tracking devices. Newer phones contain GPS chips, the same technology that allows car navigation systems to know where you are and give directions ("Turn right now"). But even older phones that don't have chips can be tracked by knowing the location of the cell towers they use to connect to a network.
There's no question that cell phones and cell-phone records can be useful for police officers who need to track the movements of those they believe to be breaking the law. And it is important for law enforcement agents to have the tools they need to stop crimes. However, it is just as important to make sure such tools are used responsibly, in a manner that safeguards our personal privacy.
But documents obtained by the ACLU and the EFF as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit show that the government takes advantage of this technology to track cell phones as extensively as possible -- often without first obtaining warrants -- except in states where courts step in to establish boundaries.
In fact, this issue gained national attention during last year's gubernatorial race in New Jersey. Documents turned over in our lawsuit revealed that the U.S. Attorney's Office -- under Chris Christie, now the governor -- was tracking cell phones without probable cause, in violation of a Justice Department recommendation.
The decision reached by the Philadelphia-based Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals will not only bind federal courts throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. It will also be a key source of guidance to courts around the country as they grapple with this issue.
We hope the court will send a message that merely carrying a cell phone should not make people more susceptible to government surveillance. No one wants to feel as if a government agent is following her wherever she goes -- be it a friend's house, a place of worship, or a therapist's office -- and innocent Americans shouldn't have to feel that way.
The government has argued that "one who does not wish to disclose his movements to the government need not use a cellular telephone." This is a startling and dismaying statement coming from the United States. The government is supposed to care about people's privacy. It should not be forcing the nation's 277 million cell-phone subscribers to choose between risking being tracked and going without an essential communications tool.
What's at stake in the case is not whether it's OK for the government to track the locations of cell phones; we agree that cell-phone tracking is lawful and appropriate in certain situations. The question is whether the government should first have to show that it has good reason to think such tracking will turn up evidence of a crime.
We believe it should. This case is not about protecting criminals. It's about protecting innocent people from unjustified violations of their privacy.
- Posted in
21 Comments so far
Show AllSheesh, Big Brother wants to know exactly where one is at anytime and anywhere. Boy, that sounds like fun. No privacy at all left. Probably listening in as well. But then they tap line-lines without probable cause.
So be careful, and if you are doing anything nefarious of traitorous (by the lights of Government in the Obama/Bush era) leave your cell phone at home.
Gary
“Relying on the government to protect your privacy is like asking a peeping tom to install your window blinds.”
-- John Perry Barlow
Interesting. It should not be long before law enforcement can generate new traffic ticket revenue. Suppose a computer app looks at live cell phone data, identifies cell phones that are moving at between 65 and 110 mph (to eliminate airplanes). The computer app could then send a note to a patrol officer saying that a cell phone belonging to a mr. X, who owns a blue bmw, tag #87878 is south bound and approaching exit 13 in 4 minutes at a speed of 87 mph. Said cell phone is in use, check for hands free equipment. Apprehend and issue ticket for $$$.
Politicians may want to know where their political rivals cell phones spend the night...all very interesting!
Elmwood,An EZE Pass transponder can already be used to forward drivers a ticket,as can toll booth plate surveillance.Considering the preponderance of cameras,Cell phone data,Northstar,Lojak,spy chips and smart licences ,a smart user should assume they are being monitored.
An alternative is to enclose all your chipped ;cards documents and devises ,turned off, in a Faraday cage,they are available as envelopes and pouches.It is probably a good idea to shield your documents from scanners when shopping and traveling.There are also licence plate covers that are transparent from behind but distort an angular view making photos difficult.
speed safely
Simply turn the phone off unless you are using it. Somehow, we survived (I still do) just fine for many years without cell phones.
I don't have a cell phone either and get along fine without one. I do piggyback on my wife's phone when necessary, since we work and recreate together much of the time.
In our law practice we determine the cause of vehicle crashes and cell phone distractions have become the most prevalent reason they occur. The reality of we humans being a part of our eco-system has been lost in a virtual world of technology while the purveyors of high tech products become richer and our privacy is compromised.
thank you for confirming my observations...as I ride in my vanpool, I casually notice how many drivers around me are on the phone, and how they're driving...
way too much inadvertent swerving, slowing-then-speeding, missing environmental signals and features...
that they have become the leading cause of crashes is not surprising...
driving is an actual responsibility, you know...a serious one...deadly serious...
hang the fuck up...
as to privacy concerns, it is odd, disconcerting, becoming alarming to feel this web of technological paraphernalia tightening around us...from satellites to computers and cameras and gps and these phones and the databases they feed...life becomes difficult without them, privacy impossible...
may be the only way is to stop using, as some have said...
Constant technological socializing on cell phones, facebook, twitter etc. has quickened our lifestyles so much that people talk, click, and text so fast that I can't keep up with or understand them. Even down here in South Carolina where folks just a few years ago had those good ol' Southern drawls!
Here is an interesting article from our local paper about legislation pending in our General Assembly to prohibit texting and cell phone use while driving:
http://www.thestate.com/breaking/v-print/story/1151220.html
huh...Shane Massey's comments are certainly problematic from my perspective, albeit not uncommon...
a driver is solely responsible for thousands of pounds of quickly moving metal...even a driver with no external distractions can find remaining at attention difficult...to allow one to converse on a phone while driving is asking for the very troubles you, in your profession, have seen blossom...
what's Massey's agenda? who's money is he taking, I wonder?
The cell phone and other technology companies are spending big bucks on advertising and lobbying, so it could be that Senator Massey's Libertarian philosophy is being fed a bit by $$$$ (the mother's milk of politics). During almost every television station break there is an ad hyping cell phone gimmicks you must buy to be cool, and big corporations that dominate in media ads usually do the same with campaign contributions in politics.
Anyone who has an expectation of privacy in today's world doesn't understand the way things are. Any time you have electronic contact with anything -- using a cell phone, paying with a debit card, using one of those discount grocery story card things they scan -- is giving information that is available to The Powers That Be should they care to check it.
Your electronic medical record is available to them.
We don't have privacy. We have assurances of privacy, such as the Health Information Privacy and Portability Act, known as HIPPA, but they are only to placate us.
Big Brother has been everywhere for a long time now. Soon access to your DNA will be available to them without your knowledge.
None of us is every really alone.
There are now ways of using the cell phone as a listening device, even if it's sitting idle. Email can be read, online surfing can be tracked, conversations listened to, whereabouts known, records of credit card purchases and bank transactions stored indefinitely, what you buy where you buy it and the time of day can be tracked and stored indefinitely.
So who you are, where you are, who you talk to, what you say, what you buy; nearly all that we do can eventually be monitored from NSA offices.
It's a totalitarian wet dream, no longer a dream.
Not sure about everyone else on this board but I'm not really important enough for the government to try track me using my cell phone (by the way i haven't had a land line since 2000).
And, if I was important enough to be tracked, most likely I would have adequate countermeasures in place.
So sit back, relax and enjoy the marvels of 21st century technology.
That kind of wimpy attitude is why totalitarian regimes can slowly but surely encroach upon personal freedoms. "I'm not doing anything wrong so why should I worry?"
Well you should be very worried. Need I explain why?
Oh trust me, I value my privacy more than a lot of people (restricted cell #, blocked credit reports, plus some other less common stuff, you name it, I got it).
The fact that there is law against being tracked by cell phone doesn't mean the gov will respect it.
What I'm trying to say is that it's up to you to care for your privacy and well being and not trust the government.
I don't know for sure but I'll bet OBL's driver Hamdan probably didn't think he was very important either. And remember, Mr. Blair testified before Congress the other day that if you are suspected of being important enough, a drone could blow you away.
What the (currently corrupt) U.S. government is doing is called terrorism by their own definitions. Telling people to discard their cell phones impedes and obstructs commerce.
They're only clamping down because they're operating from a position of weakness. The more they tighten their grip, the more friends they'll lose. Just like Al Qaeda was losing in popularity before the U.S.'s incorrect response to 9/11.
Of course, they'll gain some friends too, but it's a good thing for people who hate freedom, liberty and justice to reveal their hand to the rest of us. Or, they of course have the option to hide in caves if they want to. Wink Wink.
I don't own a cell phone. I don't borrow my wife's, because she doesn't own one either. We get by just fine, thank you very much. As a bicyclist, I see the results of in-car cell phone usage every day... half the time the driver/talker has no clue that they just blew through a red light and would have creamed a biker had the biker not been paying attention for two people. Aside from vehicular dangers, cell phones have increased levels of rudeness and impatience in our society. We used to go into a phone booth to have a private conversation away from home. Returning a phone call in 24 hrs used to be considerate and prompt. Why do we all of a sudden tolerate 17 electronic interruptions during a fifteen minute face-to-face conversation? Cell phones are just another symptom of our rampant, eco-unfriendly, ultraconsumerist society. oh, sorry, HOW THE HELL WOULD WE LIVE WITHOUT CELL PHONES???
I mostly agree, but I carry a cheap, non-contract phone for emergency use and it is
off all the time. Since the cost per minute is high, it is rarely used and even
then, only briefly to leave a message. After much thought about this, I decided
this inexpensive technology could make the difference between life and death in
an accident, so why risk dying just to make a statement? Even if it is just a
flat tire or belt or hose break, being stranded on the side of a freeway could be
fatal, especially at night, due to drunk (or cell phone distracted?) drivers who
can hit a stalled car, or a pedestrian trying to walk to a call box or other help.
I still tell people that I don't have a cell phone, since it is pointless to give
them a number that will never be answered and doesn't have voice mail set up.
However, I get a little piece of mind having a convenient way to make an occasional
urgent phone call, although NEVER while driving.
If you're not doing anything wrong you have nothing to worry about...except government incompetence that means you get suicided!
Good points, Gary.
It's all pretty crazy, isn't it?
I understood that what-ever is done in the public arena is public! Laws are designed to prevent and protect many things from being done in public ( i.e.: urinating, sex, as an example ). freedom of speech is a protection that is available to use and not be stopped.
Let me begin to say yes to what YOU seem to think is NOT wrong, now, may be wrong later! it will be recorded in this venue. don't be naive to think that what is happening in your little/larger world will be lost in time, it won't, all will be stored; EVERYTHING!!!! ' we will get back to you'.
So back to the point. If it's in public then you are the fool to think it is private. The credit card, the cell phone conversation, the remote wireless telephone connected to the ( lawfully protected ) land line, or should it be ANYTHING done on the internet is in the public domain therefore it is only responsible that the government should monitor and store it. our government is not easily acquiring private ongoings; without a warrant to investigate.
My point is that WE are giving it away, You are giving up your freedom for the hype about technology. Conversing to your friend on a cell phone or thru a text and email is for everyone to see. Everyone is the government we are sheltered by. The entity that represents the public is the government
As an example, if you have a radar or laser detector in your vehicle the law may point out that you can not use it while driving, but, the laws cannot stop you from being aware of what is around you, our government has the same right.
We are free to give away our freedoms. Stop the double talk! Bottom line:
When they came after the xxx you did nothing when they came after the yyy you did nothing then when they came after the zzz you did nothing now they are coming for you.
Use the this stuff with respect, and be aware that the dog you feed can bite!