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S.D.Tex.: Cell phone location data subject to Fourth Amendment and is more invasive than GPS

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Technology is changing faster than the law. Cell phone location data is subject to the Fourth Amendment because it can reveal information from within the home. Indeed, cell phone location data is more invasive than GPS tracking. In re Application of the United States of America for Historical Cell Site Data, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 115529 (S.D. Tex. October 29, 2010): Five years ago the first reported decisions on government acquisition of cell site information from telephone companies appeared. 4 The focus of those early decisions was the appropriate legal standard for obtaining prospective location information under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). Thereafter, a handful of decisions addressed the related problem of law enforcement access to historical cell site data collected and maintained by providers over time...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on November 03, 2010 (boomark / email).