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New York Judge: Cell phone users ‘have no legitimate expectation of privacy

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posted on May, 20 2013 @ 09:19 PM
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A federal judge recently ruled that if someone has their cell phone turned on, their location data does not deserve protection under the Fourth Amendment, meaning law enforcement can track individuals without a search warrant.

“Given the ubiquity and celebrity of geolocation technologies, an individual has no legitimate expectation of privacy in the prospective of a cellular telephone where that individual has failed to protect his privacy by taking the simple expedient of powering it off,” Brown wrote.

“As to control by the user, all of the known tracking technologies may be defeated by merely turning off the phone. Indeed – excluding apathy or inattention – the only reason that users leave cell phones turned on is so that the device can be located to receive calls. Conversely, individuals who do not want to be disturbed by unwanted telephone calls at a particular time or place simply turn their phones off, knowing that they cannot be located.”


Well, I have no words to say... I don´t live there luckily. If someone said something like that here... Here although the tracking is not allowed. 3 years ago my phone was stolen. It had the tracking inside, which could have been used. I was denied as it would be illegal act of tracking...
edit on 20-5-2013 by Cabin because: (no reason given)



posted on May, 20 2013 @ 09:25 PM
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reply to post by Cabin
 


Federal Judge: Only Powered-Off Cell Phones Deserve Privacy Protections
www.abovetopsecret.com...
by jude11
started on 5/16/2013 @ 09:24 PM

And yes, it's ludicrous.



posted on May, 20 2013 @ 09:29 PM
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Interesting technicality. But... I've seen a spy movie or two, and don't they have to remove the battery as well to keep anyone from locating the phone?



posted on May, 20 2013 @ 09:41 PM
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So you're either guilty because

1) you were there

2) why else was your phone off that single day for many hours, but on the rest of the month?

Good luck getting away bad guy! Yay for no more privacy! /sarcasm



posted on May, 20 2013 @ 09:54 PM
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This is why I recommend no-one carry or own a cell phone if they're concerned about privacy.

The relatively minor convenience/inconvenience of being in touch with others 24/7 isn't worth the potential for abuse in my opinion.

In any emergency where you'd truly need a cell, you're most likely going to be dead or incapacitated anyway.

(Examples: ask any mugging, burglary, rape, horrible car crash, or homicide victim how much help that phone was.)

People allow cell phones to give them a false sense of security.

So yes, they can track, tap, and use phones for all sorts of nasty stuff, but you all have the power....stop carrying it, and the tracking becomes a paper tiger.
edit on 20-5-2013 by TurtleSmacker because: (no reason given)



posted on May, 20 2013 @ 10:18 PM
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reply to post by Cabin
 


Well considering you are using a device that constantly sends out signals to a cell phone tower.
Possibly even exact lat & lon positions to websites.
And usually used when mobile in public.

A reasonable expectation of privacy is hard to come by.

Like when I created a website www.thesushifinder.com... that finds Sushi restaurants near you.
If I wanted to. I could take that data and put cookies on a persons phone and track them. But lucky for you I'm just showing Sushi Places closest to you via Google Maps API.

I see some apps now have geo fence capabilities. If the app were to capture that data you could be tracked.

If you want privacy. Get a cheap cell phone with no gps or data plans. Or encrypt all data using a secure chat app or secure voice app.



posted on May, 20 2013 @ 11:00 PM
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“As to control by the user, all of the KNOWN tracking technologies may be defeated by merely turning off the phone



posted on May, 20 2013 @ 11:03 PM
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I hate to say it, but I have to agree with the judge on this. You are carrying around a little radio beacon that operates via a subscriber service.

My advice: If you need privacy use a "burner" prepaid phone. This is what I use, and it means that the service provider does not have any customer records that include my name or address. If an alphabet agency wanted to eavesdrop on me they would not know which phone to listen to. If I were feeling worried about being monitored I could throw the phone away and get a new phone and number in almost no time at all. I don't have any privacy worries about my phone but I use one anyway because it ends up being cheaper for me. I don't talk on the phone much, and with prepaid phones you pay no monthly fee. You just pay per minute. I pay about $15 a month for cell service, and the phone itself only costs around $20, with some as cheap as $10. Service coverage is not quite as good as the big companies but I'm right in the city so thats not usually an issue for me either.



posted on May, 21 2013 @ 09:06 AM
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Originally posted by Cabin

Well, I have no words to say... I don´t live there luckily. If someone said something like that here... Here although the tracking is not allowed. 3 years ago my phone was stolen. It had the tracking inside, which could have been used. I was denied as it would be illegal act of tracking...


So the tracking is illegal but the theft of your property is not?


Someone should write an app where you can track your 'own' cell phone from another computer near and far.
Example; misplacing it iat home/ wondering all weekend if it was stolen or if you left it on your desk at work.

Ah well.
Hoping for someone to invent the mind reading app first.
edit on 21-5-2013 by VforVendettea because: (no reason given)



posted on May, 21 2013 @ 10:35 AM
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Twisted stupid logic; exactly the kind of BS that brought things so far in the first place.

In other words, everybody knows that they have the technology to track you so why would you expect any privacy?
Like saying, everybody knows there's a big bad dog outside, so if you don't want to be eaten alive, don't go outside.

Nobody is asking why we gave them the right to use that technology against us, because nobody really cares about privacy anymore. Oh, so what if they know every single you make? We live in a Truman show anyway.

As for me, except from using an anonymous cellphone from ebay and an anonymous sim card not connected with my name in any way ( because I need a mobile phone) I say this: what about putting that big bad dog down, so we can all move freely outdoors?



posted on May, 21 2013 @ 10:53 AM
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This is a little gift that most local sheriffs and local police have had thanks to some 3 letter federal agencies, and its not isolated to NY either I would put money on it that even the smallest police department has this ability nowadays tied into the federal system, your cell phone can be tracked and there is nothing you can do but turn it off completely.



posted on May, 21 2013 @ 11:12 AM
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reply to post by WhiteHat
 



In other words, everybody knows that they have the technology to track you so why would you expect any privacy? Like saying, everybody knows there's a big bad dog outside, so if you don't want to be eaten alive, don't go outside.

It would be more like saying "There's a big bad dog outside, so if you don't want to be eaten alive don't bring it into your house". A cell phone is not a human right, and it is not necessary for someone to have a cell phone. It is an individual choice, not forced on anyone.


As for me, except from using an anonymous cellphone from ebay and an anonymous sim card not connected with my name in any way ( because I need a mobile phone) I say this: what about putting that big bad dog down, so we can all move freely outdoors?

If you need a mobile phone then you need a device that inherently compromises your privacy. There is no way to broadcast a radio signal while remaining hidden from someone who wants to find you, and there is certainly no way to broadcast a radio signal through privately owned relays without the possibility of the owners of those relays listening to you. Even though your phone is anonymous it could be identified as your phone by looking at the numbers the call records of those close to you and finding the patterns. This is why I said that if I suddenly needed to disappear I would toss my current phone and get a new one. Doing so would interrupt those patterns.
edit on 5/21/2013 by Slugworth because: (no reason given)



posted on May, 21 2013 @ 11:17 AM
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reply to post by phinubian
 



I would put money on it that even the smallest police department has this ability nowadays tied into the federal system, your cell phone can be tracked and there is nothing you can do but turn it off completely.


I know for a fact that my local police can do this. I was listening to a police pursuit on my scanner and was surprised how quickly and easily they were able to track the suspects phone. It was a man who had murdered his wife in their front yard and was running and hiding in the woods near his home. The police were tracking him via his cell phone signal. They even confirmed that turning the phone off is not enough to make it disappear when they said over the radio that he had turned it off but they still had the signal. They began tracking the phone maybe 10-20 minutes after the search began.



posted on May, 21 2013 @ 11:29 AM
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This is the new America for you. You don't need privacy if you have nothing to hide. Remember, if you see your neighbor doing suspicious call the police. They won't help you if you get robbed or get there in time if you witness a crime in progress, but if you see your neighbor growing crops indoors they will send in the SWAT team.

Don't believe what you see because your mind can mislead you, only believe what big brother tell you. Big brother knows best!



posted on May, 21 2013 @ 12:15 PM
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Sweet justice will be when that judge gets his cell phone hacked and pictures sent to his wife of him with another woman/man. But sir, you don't have any right to privacy on your cell phone.



posted on May, 27 2013 @ 01:29 AM
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