Cell Phone Location TrackingA civil liberties briefing

Cell phone geographical location can be tracked by phone companies whenever cell phones are turned on. Cell phone information can provide real-time location information and monitor a person’s move-ments. This technology can also provide historic information on where a person has travelled or collective information identifying any cell phones in a specific area at a specific time. Law enforcement personnel routinely obtain this information from tele-communications companies, often without a warrant.

Threats to Civil Liberties

• Due process. Allowing law enforcement to access this type of private information without first show-ing probable cause is fraught with potential for abuse.

• Misuse of data. Knowing someone’s location or travel patterns reveals a great deal about that person. Data that is improperly stored, shared or aggregated could fall into the wrong hands and be used to harm reputations or make people more vulnerable to theft or physical harm.

• Free speech. Surveillance curtails individual liberty and freedom by placing Americans under constant scrutiny. Innocent people may fear punishment if they exercise their First Amendment rights on is-sues where they do not agree with the government.

Need for Guidelines

A New York Times article reported that cell phone carriers responded to 1.3 million demands for sub-scriber information in 2011 from law enforcement agencies seeking text messages, caller locations, and other information. 1

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in U.S. v. Jones that the government violated the Fourth Amendment when it used a GPS device to track a suspect’s location for 28 days without a valid warrant. A majority of the justices recognized that the long term monitoring of every movement of a person, no matter what technol-ogy is employed, impinges on an individual’s reason-able expectation of privacy. 2

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www.acluohio.org

In Ohio, many law enforcement agencies lack clear guidelines on cell phone tracking.

Ohio Legislation

The ACLU of Ohio recommends guidelines to regulate the use of cell phone location tracking in Ohio. This legislation should require:

• Warrants prior to obtaining location information;

• Specificretentionandsharingpolicies to govern the use of information;

• Explicit, written, and publicly accessible policies and procedures for the use of cell phone tracking; and

• Independent audits of location tracking informa-tion by law enforcement agencies.

1. Lichtblau, E. (2012, July 8). Wireless firms are flooded by requests to aid surveillance. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/09/us/cell-carriers-see-uptick-in-requests-to-aid-surveillance.html?pagewanted=1

2. SCOTUS Blog United States v. Jones Retrieved March 4, 2013 from http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/united-states-v-jones/