Growing Presence in the Courtroom: Cellphone Data as Witness

The pivotal role that cellphone records played in two prominent New York murder trials this year highlights the surge in law enforcement’s use of increasingly sophisticated cellular tracking techniques to keep tabs on suspects before they are arrested and build criminal cases against them by mapping their past movements. The New York Times reports.

... In what would be the highest-level court decision on the issue so far, a federal appeals court in Pennsylvania is expected to rule this summer on whether search warrants are required for the most basic cellphone tracking data — the electronic footprints that cellphone users leave behind in company records, often without realizing it.

In March, Google announced that it would require search warrants before releasing GPS data that pinpoints the movements of customers who use its mapping applications — like Latitude, which lets people see where their friends are — on their phones.

But phone and Internet companies want Congress to clarify the laws so that they are clear about their legal responsibilities.

Civil libertarians do not oppose using cellphone surveillance to solve crimes or save people in emergencies, but they worry that the legal gray area is enabling it to happen without much scrutiny or discussion.

emily | 8:28 AM | Localisation, SMS as Evidence in Court |
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