Cellphone Tracking: Secret Warrants Granted Without Probable Cause...

Cellphone Tracking: Secret Warrants Granted Without Probable Cause...

www.nworeport.com

Federal officials are routinely asking courts to order cellphone companies to furnish real-time tracking data so they can pinpoint the whereabouts of drug traffickers, fugitives and other criminal suspects, according to judges and industry lawyers.

In some cases, judges have granted the requests without requiring the government to demonstrate that there is probable cause to believe that a crime is taking place or that the inquiry will yield evidence of a crime. Privacy advocates fear such a practice may expose average Americans to a new level of government scrutiny of their daily lives.

(visit the link for the full news article)

More loss of our rights!!

www.nworeport.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

This one was going to happen just because the technology is there. I think any one who saw cell phones come into being should have seen this one coming also.

Big Brother is watching us! I think judges frequently just "rubber stamp" warrants without giving them the proper scrutiny that the law supposedly calls for. Sadly, anything found in a search can be used to prosecute someone even if it's not listed on the warrant like it used to have to be. Entrapment is another common ploy by our law "enforcement" people. They are indeed taking our rights one by one.

[edit on 11/23/2007 by TheAvenger]

One of the reasons I dont' own a cell phone.

Originally posted by RedGolem
This one was going to happen just because the technology is there. I think any one who saw cell phones come into being should have seen this one coming also.

When cellphones first appeared I found it very disconcerting to walk around and hear people talking to themselves. At first I kept thinking I was surrounded by crazy people. Then I began to feel sorry for all the people who would pay so much money to avoid being left with their own thoughts for even five mintutes.

When I got my first cellphone, one of the first things I did was disable the GPS.

Any legitimate sources for these claims?

nworeport.com is slightly less than legitimate. And most of the links in the essay just launch search results instead of sourcing information.

Not saying I don't believe it. Just that when a reporter doesn't understand the technology, and considering the source, it's just a tad difficult to trust.

E911 tracking systems read signals sent to satellites from a phone's Global Positioning System (GPS) chip or triangulated radio signals sent from phones to cell towers

Phones don't send signals to satellites (unless it's a sat phone...). GPS data from the satellites is processed by the phone and then the location is sent to the tower.

Anal, I know. But my point stands.

I might also point out that having your phone off in no way always protects your privacy from being listened to by the authorities.

A recent ABC News report, and other sources, including the authorities themselves, state that a cell phone can be used as a microphone and tapped and made to broadcast conversations from it's location, even when turned off by the user.

The only way to be sure that no one is listening while you rant about strangling your mother-in-law while going down the road in your car at 65mph, is to REMOVE the batteries.