Feds Push To Track Cell Phones

[BG45]

An article from a reliable source, [url="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10451518-38.html"]CNET[/url], on something I'm amazed certain people haven't posted here.
[quote]
Two years ago, when the FBI was stymied by a band of armed robbers known as the "Scarecrow Bandits" that had robbed more than 20 Texas banks, it came up with a novel method of locating the thieves.

FBI agents obtained logs from mobile phone companies corresponding to what their cellular towers had recorded at the time of a dozen different bank robberies in the Dallas area. The voluminous records showed that two phones had made calls around the time of all 12 heists, and that those phones belonged to men named Tony Hewitt and Corey Duffey. A jury eventually convicted the duo of multiple bank robbery and weapons charges.

Even though police are tapping into the locations of mobile phones thousands of times a year, the legal ground rules remain unclear, and federal privacy laws written a generation ago are ambiguous at best. On Friday, the first federal appeals court to consider the topic will hear oral arguments (PDF) in a case that could establish new standards for locating wireless devices.

In that case, the Obama administration has argued that warrantless tracking is permitted because Americans enjoy no "reasonable expectation of privacy" in their--or at least their cell phones'--whereabouts. U.S. Department of Justice lawyers say that "a customer's Fourth Amendment rights are not violated when the phone company reveals to the government its own records" that show where a mobile device placed and received calls.

Those claims have alarmed the ACLU and other civil liberties groups, which have opposed the Justice Department's request and plan to tell the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia that Americans' privacy deserves more protection and judicial oversight than what the administration has proposed.[/quote]

Far more in the article.

[ThePenciledOne]

Is everyone that surprised?

I am surprised that the government is even letting know that they are pushing for this, though whether they really need to push probably the better question.

[dominicansoul]

if i'm ever kidnapped, feel free to find me via my cell phone...

[CatherineM]

I rarely use mine, but I always leave mine on. If something were to happen to me, I'd want them to be able to find me using the gps. I always told my boys that they should assume that everything they do or say is being recorded the second they step out the front door, because chances are that they are being recorded.

[Lounge Daddy]

Surly, it'll be used for good. (I'm rolling my eyes as hard as I can.

[quote name='ThePenciledOne' date='12 February 2010 - 04:25 PM' timestamp='1266009917' post='2056040']
I am surprised that the government is even letting know that they are pushing for this ...
[/quote]

I was thinking the same thing. Maybe Obama's government is a big dumb brother.

[ThePenciledOne]

[quote name='Lounge Daddy' date='12 February 2010 - 07:04 PM' timestamp='1266015865' post='2056120']


Maybe Obama's government is a big dumb brother.
[/quote]

I was thinking the same thing.

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='CatherineM' date='12 February 2010 - 05:44 PM' timestamp='1266011046' post='2056069']
I rarely use mine, but I always leave mine on. If something were to happen to me, I'd want them to be able to find me using the gps. I always told my boys that they should assume that everything they do or say is being recorded the second they step out the front door, because chances are that they are being recorded.
[/quote]
No government has the capability to record every single conversation, there are no computers large enough. However if you start discussing nuclear warheads someone will pay attention, which is fine with me. I am thrilled if something happens to my kids biking or hiking we can trace their signal.

[Norseman82]

Most new cell phones have locator technology that can locate it even if it is turned off. I know that this subject came up locally when someone died in a field in a rural area, and if his cell phone had a locator he may have been found in time to save his life.

[MIKolbe]

my personal safety is WAY more important than due process and privacy rights for everyone else.

so sry.

[Winchester]

[quote name='ThePenciledOne' date='12 February 2010 - 04:25 PM' timestamp='1266009917' post='2056040']
Is everyone that surprised?

I am surprised that the government is even letting know that they are pushing for this, though whether they really need to push probably the better question.
[/quote]
The idea is control, not capture. It's the difference between a speed trap and a cop sitting out in the open with a radar gun.

[mcts]

[quote name='CatherineM' date='12 February 2010 - 04:44 PM' timestamp='1266011046' post='2056069']
I rarely use mine, but I always leave mine on. If something were to happen to me, I'd want them to be able to find me using the gps. I always told my boys that they should assume that everything they do or say is being recorded the second they step out the front door, because chances are that they are being recorded.
[/quote]


[quote name='cmotherofpirl' date='12 February 2010 - 10:14 PM' timestamp='1266030889' post='2056245']
No government has the capability to record every single conversation, there are no computers large enough. However if you start discussing nuclear warheads someone will pay attention, which is fine with me. I am thrilled if something happens to my kids biking or hiking we can trace their signal.
[/quote]


[quote name='MIkolbe' date='13 February 2010 - 07:42 AM' timestamp='1266064957' post='2056416']
my personal safety is WAY more important than due process and privacy rights for everyone else.

so sry.


[/quote]

agreed to all.

[Winchester]

There will be hacks to overcome this.

[jeffpugh]

[quote name='Winchester' date='13 February 2010 - 11:39 AM' timestamp='1266079176' post='2056443']
There will be hacks to overcome this.
[/quote]
Yeah, it's called busting the phone /sarcasm

On the other hand, if one does overcome it, I'm sure the feds will catch you when you go to pay the phonebill

[Winchester]

[quote name='Sacred Music Man' date='13 February 2010 - 11:57 AM' timestamp='1266080246' post='2056456']
Yeah, it's called busting the phone /sarcasm

On the other hand, if one does overcome it, I'm sure the feds will catch you when you go to pay the phonebill
[/quote]
Escape government detection?

There's an app for that.

[ThePenciledOne]

[quote name='Winchester' date='13 February 2010 - 10:23 AM' timestamp='1266070982' post='2056424']
The idea is control, not capture. It's the difference between a speed trap and a cop sitting out in the open with a radar gun.
[/quote]

And when is does control concerning government have a decent connotation?

Cause as soon as they start doing this it won't belong before they start storming into your house, since you have mentioned "unpatriotic" sentiments.