The New York Times
(Editor’s note: Opinion pieces are published for discussions purposes only.)
Odds are you need to use that phone in your pocket many times a day — and doing so leaves you no choice but to constantly relay data revealing your location and movements to Verizon, AT&T or whatever cellphone company you pay for the service. For most people, most of the time, that’s not a concern, if they’re aware of it at all. But how easy should it be for the government to get its hands on that data?
That’s the question at the heart of a major new case the Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear. The justices’ decision could redefine not only the limits on law enforcement access to cellphone-location records, but the future of surveillance more broadly.
“Although this is a criminal case dealing with Fourth Amendment issues, it is an important demonstration of the problems which arise when applying antiquated legislation and legal concepts to modern day technologies. Evolving technology results in changes to people’s behaviors and expectations, especially with regards to privacy. As such, it is important to keep up with new technologies with revised or new legislation.”
