Washington – The Supreme Court has issued a ruling in a key case involving Fourth Amendment protections for the internet age. The Justices in Chatrie v. United States found that an individual’s location history is protected by the Fourth Amendment and thus the government needs a warrant to obtain peoples’ location data.
The Court aligned with arguments that the Computer & Communications Industry Association and the Software & Information Industry Association put forward in a joint Supreme Court amicus brief, arguing that both the Fourth Amendment and the Stored Communications Act require law enforcement to obtain judicial warrants before each request seeking internet users’ location history data.
For more than three decades, CCIA has supported ensuring Fourth Amendment protections extend to electronic communications by requiring the government to obtain a warrant based on probable cause to access the contents of citizens’ electronic communications.
The following can be attributed to CCIA President & CEO Matt Schruers:
“The Fourth Amendment fully protects people’s rights to privacy from government intrusion. We are encouraged to see the Court recognize that privacy interests persist regardless of the technology involved, and that law enforcement must seek judicial authorization to obtain Americans’ geolocation information.”
