US Supreme Court rules geofence warrants require constitutional protections(theguardian.com)
595 points by cdrnsf 1 day ago | 287 comments
tl;dr: The US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Chatrie v US that geofence warrants—which compel tech companies to hand over location data for all devices within a specified area and timeframe—constitute Fourth Amendment searches requiring constitutional protections. Justice Kagan's majority opinion rejected the government's argument that users voluntarily surrender privacy by enabling location services, noting Google repeatedly prompts users to enable tracking without disclosing how the data could be shared. The appeals court will still determine whether the specific search in the case was reasonable and supported by probable cause.
HN Discussion:
  • Provides additional details/sources about the case ruling and Google's data handover process
  • Surveillance tech is too easy now; legal friction is needed to prevent abuse
  • Warrants are often rubber-stamped, so requiring constitutional protections is necessary
  • ~Other surveillance vectors like photo EXIF and IP-based tracking remain unaddressed
  • Questions whether ruling extends to other indiscriminate surveillance products like Flock cameras