There is a federal court ruling that could have massive consequences on cell phone privacy:

“A federal court in Massachusetts has ruled that the government doesn’t need probable cause to obtain a warrant allowing it to use a person’s cell phone to track his past movements.

According to the ruling by the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, law enforcement officials only need to show the information is “relevant to an ongoing investigation.”

link: Ruling eases government’s efforts for cell phone tracking

Couldn’t any surveillance be included under this broad notice? The surveillance could be justified in eliminating a person from being a suspect (or a so-called ‘person of interest’). The problem is that everyone could be a potential suspect.

Where are the checks and balances? It is a dangerous assumption to think that law enforcement will not stretch the intent and spirit of this court ruling. To allow the government unfettered access to the movements and activities of citizens is, in itself, terrifying. Nevertheless, it seems that such things are possible under the rubric of security.

Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster: http://flyinghamster.com/

Tags: court ruling, privacy, surveillance, tracking, security, cell phones, warrant