Police allowed to track cell phones in US without court warrants

The US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that allows police to track GPS signals without a warrant or probable cause.

The Fourth Amendment protects against “unreasonable searches and seizures” without the issuance of a warrant obtained due to probable cause.

But the Court considers cell phone use to be a public – not private – action, thereby being ineligible for the protections of the Fourth Amendment.

While any US cell phone can now be tracked by police without probable cause or a warrant, the Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that police must obtain a warrant before secretly attacking a GPS tracking device to a suspect’s car.

That ruling is currently being contested, leaving the possibility for police to secretly track vehicles without permission. Without the requirement of a warrant to access cell phone data, US authorities are gaining increasing power over what some would consider “private” rights of individuals – but what the Courts call “public.”