Cops turn to Google, making everyone a suspect
Reports indicate that police are routinely issuing blanket warrants to investigate every person within the vicinity of a crime via their Google location data.
Local media reports out of Raleigh, North Carolina, explain how police investigators are asking Google for information in an effort to solve crimes.
Via WRAL:
On a satellite image, they drew shapes around the crime scenes, marking the coordinates on the map. Then they convinced a Wake County judge they had enough probable cause to order Google to hand over account identifiers on every single cell phone that crossed the digital cordon during certain times.In at least four investigations last year – cases of murder, sexual battery and even possible arson at the massive downtown fire in March 2017 – Raleigh police used search warrants to demand Google accounts not of specific suspects, but from any mobile devices that veered too close to the scene of a crime, according to a WRAL News review of court records. These warrants often prevent the technology giant for months from disclosing information about the searches not just to potential suspects, but to any users swept up in the search.City and county officials say the practice is a natural evolution of criminal investigative techniques. They point out that, by seeking search warrants, they’re carefully balancing civil rights with public safety.
This is a scenario playing out in investigations throughout the country and it has privacy advocates a little concerned, especially given the amount of information users are unwillingly handing over to Google on a daily basis.
As Gizmodo pointed out:
Disturbingly, if Google has handed over data, it could be under court order not to notify individual users.Google declined to say whether it released data in any of the Raleigh cases, but representatives from the ACLU and EFF reviewed the warrants, questioning Raleigh PD’s justification for the alarmingly broad search. For example, the arson and sexual battery cases don’t mention whether the attacker even had a cell phone. The warrants say police are also interested in locating potential witnesses, but does that necessitate this level of search?Investigations are still ongoing for all four cases. So far, only one has resulted in a suspect being arrested.
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