Massachusetts Court Blocks Warrantless Access to Real-Time Location Data

The Supreme Judicial Court, the state’s highest court, ruled that police access to real-time cell phone location data—whether it comes from a phone company or from technology like a cell site simulator—intrudes on a person’s reasonable expectation of privacy. The court noted that “society’s expectation has been that law enforcement could not secretly and instantly identify a person’s real-time physical location at will,” and “[a]llowing law enforcement to immediately locate an individual whose whereabouts were previously unknown by compelling that individual’s cell phone to reveal its location contravenes that expectation.” We’re heartened that the Massachusetts court took these issues seriously and made clear that the police must get a warrant, whether they access historical cell phone location data or whether they cause a phone to send its real-time location.

Source: www.eff.org