The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 29 that law enforcement officials have to abide by the Fourth Amendment when they use cellphone location data to investigate criminal activity.
The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable search and seizure. A suspected bank robber said police violated his rights by accessing his location data to place him at the scene of the crime.
“An individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy in records about his cell phone’s location, and police intrude on that constitutionally protected interest when they demand the information—even though for only a limited time, and from a third-party tech company,” Justice Elena Kagan wrote in the 6–3 ruling….