Stingray Phone Tracker Fuels Constitutional Clash [Telecom]

" For more than a year, federal authorities pursued a man they " called simply "the Hacker." Only after using a little known " cellphone-tracking device -- a stingray -- were they able to " zero in on a California home and make the arrest. " " Stingrays are designed to locate a mobile phone even when it's " not being used to make a call. The Federal Bureau of " Investigation considers the devices to be so critical that it has " a policy of deleting the data gathered in their use, mainly to " keep suspects in the dark about their capabilities, an FBI " official told The Wall Street Journal in response to inquiries. " " A stingray's role in nabbing the alleged "Hacker" - Daniel David " Rigmaiden - is shaping up as a possible test of the legal standards " for using these devices in investigations. The FBI says it " obtains appropriate court approval to use the device. " " Stingrays are one of several new technologies used by law " enforcement to track people's locations, often without a search " warrant. These techniques are driving a constitutional debate " about whether the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable " searches and seizures, but which was written before the digital " age, is keeping pace with the times. " " On Nov. 8, the Supreme Court will hear arguments over whether or " not police need a warrant before secretly installing a GPS device " on a suspect's car and tracking him for an extended period. In " both the Senate and House, new bills would require a warrant " before tracking a cellphone's location.

article continues here:

***** Moderator's Note *****

In both the Senate and House, new bills are (to be charitable) pointless. Either the right exists or it does not, and only the Supremes get to decide that.

The Founding Fathers of the United States could not have imagined a world where the government is so afraid of its citizens that it feels the need to listen in to their most mundane conversations and to know where they are at every moment. The elites of the United States have become more afraid of ideas than of those who have them, but as has been said down through the ages, the pen is mightier than the sword - at least in the long term.

Of course, "hackers" are bad: after all, they do something that is "illegal". Of course, seditious libel is bad: after all, it is "illegal". Thomas Paine would have seen this for what it is.

Bill Horne Moderator

Reply to
Thad Floryan
Loading thread data ...

Our Esteemed Moderator appended to article :

Nonsense.

The right is to be free from "unreasonable" search and seizure. The legislature can change the meaning of "reasonable" by enacting a new law -- as, for example, they did with the Wiretap Act in 1967.

-GAWollman

Reply to
Garrett Wollman

Cabling-Design.com Forums website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.