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Supreme Court justices signal in favor of cell phone privacy
A string of robberies could end up having a major impact on technological privacy rights in the US, after Supreme Court justices expressed concern over warrantless cell phone tower data usage during a hearing on the case.
Supreme Court justices heard a case on Wednesday in which authorities obtained 127 days of information from cell phone towers to demonstrate that a suspected criminal was in the vicinity of the robberies. The information was obtained without a warrant, sparking a legal battle that reached the nation’s highest court.
The justices signaled that there may be bipartisan agreement on the case.
“Most Americans, I think, still want to avoid Big Brother,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor said, referring to the totalitarian security apparatus in George Orwell’s classic dystopian novel, “1984.”
Chief Justice John Roberts pointed out that having a cellphone is a matter of necessity, not choice.
I believe this was probably the most significant part of oral arguments: Roberts, citing Riley, argued that cellphones should be treated as a necessity of modern living, not a voluntary choice.
Incredibly important for privacy rights in Digital Age pic.twitter.com/oGUyu0Ud7m
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