CNET has filed a comprehensive report detailing moves by the Department of Justice, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to file oral arguments on Friday in favor of the active tracking of cell phones and the retention of related active location data without the need for probable cause or a warrant in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, citing recent drug trafficking busts that used location data to aid in the apprehension of the suspects.
In the Third Circuit case being presented on Friday, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives stated it needed historical phone location information because a set of suspects used their wireless telephones to arrange meetings and transactions for their drug trafficking activities, according to the bureau.
The issue stems from the determination of the current scope of the Fourth Amendment and how it applies to current communications technology such as cell phones, with new more specific ground rules on tracking expected to be established as a result of the oral arguments being presented.
