WASHINGTON, DC. (THECOUNT) — Law enforcement officials will now be required to obtain a warrant before tracking suspects via their digital devices.
In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court gave a victory to privacy advocates Friday, ruling that police generally must have permission from a judge before they can get cell phone records to plot the movements of individual customers.
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The majority opinion was authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, and joined by justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. Justice Anthony Kennedy dissented along with justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Thomas Gorsuch. source
The decision requires police departments nationwide to get a search warrant in order to obtain telephone company data to track where a user has been. The technique is widespread, given that 95 percent of Americans own a cell phone.