Today's Article
There’s an ongoing
legal debate over the
feds' 'right' to track
private vehicles and
cell phones, according
to a recently released
gov't study.
legal debate over the
feds' 'right' to track
private vehicles and
cell phones, according
to a recently released
gov't study.
The American Spark
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Are Feds Tracking Your Cell Phone and Vehicle?
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.”
Like what you're reading so far? Then why not order a full year (52 issues) of The American Spark
e-newsletter for only $15? A major article covering an story not being told in the Corporate Press will be
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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.”
Like what you're reading so far? Then why not order a full year (52 issues) of The American Spark
e-newsletter for only $15? A major article covering an story not being told in the Corporate Press will be
delivered to your email every Monday morning for a full year, for less than 30 cents an issue. Order Now!
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