The issue of the constitutionality of use of surveillance technology by law enforcement should be on everyone’s radar. Heh, like speed guns.
Anyway, one of the implications of awesome new technologies is that they are not yet integrated into our laws and other legal concepts- this was so totally awesome for a golden moment before Napster had to go legit, right? That same idea works in your general un-favor when it comes to your rights, however. GPS tracking devices, for instance, are one way we could be getting ready to toss out the ideas in the Bill of Rights and move toward a model where de facto warrantless searches are acceptable and common. Way less cool than a free Weezer album, people!
In the past, if cops wanted to pin down your every movement, you had to be a pretty big fish. Man hours had to be allocated to your case, and they couldn’t come in your house without a warrant, because all Americans have a right to be “secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures” per the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution. When cars were invented, this extended to your vehicle, because it is kind of like a mini-house legally. Enter GPS tracking devices.
So now we’re all familiar and friends with GPS. It helps us get places! There’s one in our phone! But the FBI can also slap one onto your car to figure out where you’re going, where you’ve been and whether or not your alibi checks out. ( This has been documented and is as scary as balls .) And all this can happen without a warrant . So no one has to prove in a court of law that there is some very good reason to be spying on every day Americans- all the FBI needs is like ten bucks and a desire to be right up your ass. (Or maybe a really, really wealthy friend who has a vested financial interest in keeping an eye on you.)
As Wired points out, too, you don’t need to be a suspect or even be stationary for the invasion of your constitutionally guaranteed privacy to begin- and it’s already happening, and has been for years:
The government told the justices that GPS devices have become a common tool in crime fighting. An officer shooting a dart can affix them to moving vehicles, and recently, a student in California found a tracking device attached to the underside of his car, which the FBI later demanded back.
It’s expected the case will be decided in October, and regardless of which way it goes, the outcome should significantly impact the way your privacy rights look in the future. Do you think the FBI should be able to conduct surveillance this way, or should the implications on the Fourth Amendment be considered more heavily before the practice is allowed to take root in our arsenal of tactics for surveillance on American citizens?
