Supreme Court rules Fourth Amendment privacy protections apply to cellphone location history data

Summary

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that constitutional privacy protections under the Fourth Amendment extend to cellphone location data obtained through geofence warrants. Justice Elena Kagan wrote the majority opinion, holding that individuals do not forfeit their reasonable expectation of privacy simply by opting into Google's location history services. The case involved a Virginia bank robber whose identity was uncovered via a geofence warrant. Justice Samuel Alito dissented, arguing the defendant voluntarily surrendered his location information to Google. The ruling represents the court's ongoing effort to apply 18th-century constitutional principles to modern digital technology.

Source

bskySupreme Court rules Fourth Amendment privacy protections apply to cellphone location history dataapnews.com