4 ms·

> police could just buy the data legally. Doesn't this still fall foul of existing surveillance protections, though? The police can't circumvent legislation by

• gumby 3y ago
  Your position is logical, but unfortunately there is by now a large body of precedent saying that that gaping loophole is fine. So for example police can’t track your movement without a warrant, but they can buy that info from the phone companies. This could be fixed very simply by a law. The chances of such a law being passed are sadly extremely low.
  • giantg2 3y ago
    "but they can buy that info from the phone companies" Actually, they are starting to crack down on some of that with the recent SCOTUS case on cell location tracking. I forget the case name, but that was within the last 4 or so years.
  • matthewmcg 3y ago
    Correct. This is called "third party doctrine," and the theory is that since you've voluntarily entrusted this data to the third party, you have no reasonable expectation of privacy in it and a warrant is not needed.
• syrrim 3y ago
  > The police can't circumvent legislation by just paying a PI to stalk you instead. Why would they need to? Stalking you doesn't require a warrant. Breaking into your house, for example, would require a warrant, but a PI can't do that any more legally than the police can.
  • sangnoir 3y ago
    > Breaking into your house, for example, would require a warrant, but a PI can't do that any more legally than the police can. If your neighbor's Ring camera is pointed at your front door or living room, the police can legally acquire the footage without a warrant.