By Cliff Montgomery – Jan. 10th, 2012
There’s an ongoing debate in legal circles over the federal government’s “right” to track private vehicles and cell phones, according to a recently released study from the Congressional Research Service (CRS).
“It is undeniable that… advances in technology threaten to diminish privacy,” states the CRS study.
“Law enforcement’s use of cell phones and GPS devices to track an individual’s movements brings into sharp relief the challenge of reconciling technology, privacy, and law.”
One would think it would be an easy issue, for one undeniable reason: governments don’t have rights. At best they may only claim privileges, which are granted them by a free and self-ruling people. The people are the ones with the inherent rights.
The people are to keep a strong, steady watch on their governments – not the other way around.
Of course, all of this assumes America currently is a functioning democracy…which is assuming quite a bit.
The CRS report tackles a number of pertinent issues, such as Fourth Amendment law, electronic surveillance bills now before Congress, statutes and case law pertaining to federal electronic spying activities and current GPS-vehicle tracking cases.
“The primary debate surrounding cell phone and GPS tracking is not whether they are permitted by statute but rather what legal standard should apply: probable cause, reasonable suspicion, or something less,” states the report.
On a good note, “legislation has been introduced in the 112th Congress that proposes to update, clarify, or – in some instances – strengthen the privacy interests protected under the law,” declares the CRS study.
“In particular, Senator Ron Wyden [D-OR] and Representative Jason Chaffetz [R-UT] introduced identical legislation, S. 1212 and H.R. 2168, entitled the Geolocational Privacy and Surveillance Act, or GPS bill, which would make it unlawful for a service provider to disclose – or law enforcement to intercept or use – a person’s location unless they obtained a warrant based upon probable cause or one of the limited exceptions applies.
“Senator Patrick J. Leahy [D-VT] has introduced the Electronic Communications Privacy Act Amendment Act of 2011 (S. 1011),” continues the CRS report, “which not only includes a warrant requirement for geolocation information, but also overhauls and updates other provisions of federal electronic surveillance law.”
