Warrantless Cell Phone Tracking

Since this week’s topic had to do with the legal implications of IT, I really started to think a lot about what our government does to monitor our daily actions. At what point does our government’s utilization of IT to maintain security become unethical and too invasive? The article, “Justice Dept. defends warrantless cell phone tracking” really sparked my interest in this topic. Of course, this article is referring to the built-in GPS capabilities of cellular phones, and the legality behind the accessibility of this information to law enforcement agencies. More specifically, there are two forms of cell phone tracking; retrospective and prospective. Retrospective tracking utilizes historical data kept by mobile providers, and isn’t very detailed. In contrast, prospective tracking is very detailed (roughly accurate to a city block) and “reveals the minute-by-minute location of a mobile device”.

According to the article, the United States Department of Justice is now asking U.S. federal courts to allow the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to have relatively open access to individual’s cellular phones for the purpose of tracking the whereabouts of that individual. The rationale here is that “there is no constitutional bar to acquiring routine business records held by a communications service provider “. Additionally, such law enforcement agencies are already permitted to use tracking devices without first obtaining a search warrant.

I think we all knew that this issue would arise before too long since so many individuals have cell phones, the majority of which can be easily tracked with satellites. Personally, I am vehemently against our government being able to access our location through our cellular phones. I certainly never agreed to this when I purchased my cell phone. That said, I also definitely want some government agencies to be able to track my location. Obviously, I want emergency services to be able to locate me if I am ever lost or stranded, and cell phone tracking could very easily facilitate this.

Despite my disdain for warrantless cell phone tracking, perhaps it is necessary. Perhaps we shouldn’t have this assumption of privacy. After all, cellular phones definitely make it easier for criminal to evade law enforcement. In fact, the article details two instances in which federal law enforcement was able to track a murderer and drug shipment via cell phone tracking.

Still, I believe that this issue must abide by constitutional law; specifically the fourth amendment. If law enforcement officials truly have reason to suspect wrongdoing, shouldn’t they be able to obtain a warrant to track that individual? I think my problem with this issue is that ‘big brother’ wants to randomly follow otherwise (presumed) innocent individuals. Perhaps the old wives’ tales of embedded tracking devices in tooth filliings or pennies really isn’t that far off…