A federal judge at the Nevada court has declared that tracking phones via cell tower dumps is illegal. The decision severely impacts law enforcement agencies in resorting to the controversial investigative tool for their investigation.
Generally, get a warrant for a tower dump, which lets them access data from cell phones, of course, with the help of the concerned carrier network. The tower dumps tell which specific tower users were connected to at a particular time. The tool allows tracking locations and identifying details of cell phones, which is why it’s been used in investigations, but has now been ruled unconstitutional, arguing that it violates the 4th amendment.
US District Judge Miranda M. Du stated that the use of tower dumps fails to meet constitutional standards for probable cause. However, she approved using evidence from the tower dump in an investigation of a criminal case.
Impact of tower dumps “illegal” ruling
The fresh ruling on tower dumps could have a broader impact in terms of criminal investigations. Activists have long argued that tower dumps gather data even of people who are not related to any investigation and that it breaches the privacy of citizens. The new ruling gives more weight to not using it.
A federal judge in Mississippi also declared that tower dumps are unconstitutional and disallowed their use in an investigation.
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Now, as the heat grows on this investigative tool, it’s argued that the matter might be taken to the Supreme Court to find a resolution.