Technology can be quite liberating.
Innovations over the last decade or so have allowed us to freely publish content, gather information and communicate with each other from across the globe.
Yet, it’s easy to forget how easily this technology breaks down walls which formerly protected us from prying eyes. We tend to ignore that every Google search, every “like” and every tweet is being uploaded into a server in some far-off building and that this information is directly traceable to our own identities.
As use of newer technology became more commonplace among the populace, protections should have been put in place to ensure that people’s information is kept private and has the Fourth Amendment safeguards one would expect.
Instead, online and other digital information have become fair game for government and law enforcement agencies to collect.
A report by the American Civil Liberties Union recently revealed that law enforcement agencies around the country have been working together with wireless carriers to gather location tracking information that cell phones automatically provide.
This wouldn’t normally be any cause for concern, as location information could help law enforcement agencies perform their duties and administer justice more efficiently. But the problem lies with the fact that the report showed many such agencies do not seek to obtain a warrant or demonstrate probable cause before gathering that information.
“The government’s location tracking policies should be clear, uniform and protective of privacy, but instead are in a state of chaos, with agencies in different towns following different rules – or in some cases, having no rules at all,” the ACLU report stated.
All cell phones broadcast their location to cell phone networks several times a minute, as long as that phone has a wireless signal. However, location data is sensitive.
Through location data, one could discover much about a person’s habits and interests.
Some customers may be surprised to learn of their network’s policies when it comes to their location data. Sprint holds onto location tracking data for 18-24 months and AT&T may hold onto such data indefinitely, according to the report.
The ACLU report revealed that many wireless carriers have a nice business arrangement with law enforcement agencies, charging for the data they store.
The fact that such agencies have access to such sensitive data without first requiring a warrant is troubling.
However, these actions are nothing new when it comes to the government’s ability to gather digital data.
In 2011, the government successfully forced Twitter, Gmail and the Californian Internet service provider Sonic to hand over the personal records of activist and WikiLeaks volunteer Jacob Appelbaum. No warrant or
probable cause was given.
Instead, the government issued national security letters, which prohibited these third parties from informing Appelbaum that his information had been collected.
These powers demonstrate just how fragile privacy rights have become as our lives grow more intertwined with new technology and the efficiency it allows us.
Essentially, the government and law enforcement have ceased to evolve in-step with technology.
As our tools have become more advanced, laws have not been updated to ensure privacy can still be protected while still ensuring security. Instead, the government’s power has risen disproportionately when compared to civilian protections from abuse.
This can still be changed.
Laws can be updated to better deal with new innovations and treat all personal information, except that which is given out publicly, as private data subject to constitutional protections.
Government and law enforcement agencies seem to believe that simply because it is possible to gather information on civilians, they should have the power to do so without limits.
However, people’s information should not be given out without the accountability and oversight that warrants and probable cause provide.
Fourth Amendment protections should not be a thing of a bygone era.
 
David Scheuermann is a 20-year-old mass communication and computer science sophomore from Kenner. Follow him on Twitter at @TDR_dscheu.
 
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Contact David Scheuermann [email protected]