The American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation are suing the Department of Justice to obtain official records concerning the U.S. governments possible use of cell-phone-tracking technology to spy on individuals without first obtaining a court order based on probable cause.
In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the civil-liberties groups said the DOJ failed to provide an adequate and timely response to a records request filed last year under the Freedom of Information Act.
"This is a critical opportunity to shed much-needed light on possibly unconstitutional government surveillance techniques," said Catherine Crump, the ACLU lead attorney. "Signing up for cell-phone services should not be synonymous with signing up to be spied on and tracked by the government."
COMPLYING WITH CURRENT LAW
At least some U.S. attorneys may have violated a DOJ "internal recommendation" that "federal prosecutors seek warrants based on probable cause to obtain precise location data in private areas," according to a Washington Post article published last November. Moreover, the ACLU said other media reports have raised the possibility that law-enforcement officers may have obtained tracking data directly from the nations mobile carriers without any court involvement.
Due to the limited amount of information currently available about the governments tracking practices, the ACLU said it believes the lack of information on the issue raises serious questions about whether the government is complying with current law and the U.S. Constitution.
"The governments policies and practices for monitoring the locations of mobile phones are unclear," the ACLU noted in its original records request. "It is not even apparent whether the government routinely obtains mobile-phone location information without any court supervision whatsoever."
Information pertaining to the DOJs procedures for obtaining real-time tracking information is vital to the publics understanding of the privacy risks of carrying a mobile phone, the new complaint states. More generally, the requested information is essential for ascertaining the "governments expansive view of its surveillance powers," the court filing said.
BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
The ACLUs 2007 request for information sought the expedited delivery of records concerning the DOJs role in tracking the location of individuals mobile phones without a warrant. In particular, the civil-liberties group sought information on the criminal prosecution of individuals tracked without court involvement.
"But remarkably, the Justice Department refused to respond quickly to the request, as the law requires when urgent information is at issue," said David L. Sobel, the EFFs co-counsel on the case. "Further delay will allow important privacy policies to be developed behind closed doors."
The original request for information included documents, memos and guides regarding the policies and procedures for tracking individuals through the use of their cell phones. Moreover, the ACLU sought to ascertain the number of times the government requested cell-phone location information without establishing probable cause as well as how many times the DOJs requests had been granted.
If the court compels the government to respond to the ACLUs request, the plaintiffs intend to disseminate the information to the public, "which has an overwhelming interest in the requested information, which concerns our most personal communications," Sobel said.
In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the civil-liberties groups said the DOJ failed to provide an adequate and timely response to a records request filed last year under the Freedom of Information Act.
"This is a critical opportunity to shed much-needed light on possibly unconstitutional government surveillance techniques," said Catherine Crump, the ACLU lead attorney. "Signing up for cell-phone services should not be synonymous with signing up to be spied on and tracked by the government."
COMPLYING WITH CURRENT LAW
At least some U.S. attorneys may have violated a DOJ "internal recommendation" that "federal prosecutors seek warrants based on probable cause to obtain precise location data in private areas," according to a Washington Post article published last November. Moreover, the ACLU said other media reports have raised the possibility that law-enforcement officers may have obtained tracking data directly from the nations mobile carriers without any court involvement.
Due to the limited amount of information currently available about the governments tracking practices, the ACLU said it believes the lack of information on the issue raises serious questions about whether the government is complying with current law and the U.S. Constitution.
"The governments policies and practices for monitoring the locations of mobile phones are unclear," the ACLU noted in its original records request. "It is not even apparent whether the government routinely obtains mobile-phone location information without any court supervision whatsoever."
Information pertaining to the DOJs procedures for obtaining real-time tracking information is vital to the publics understanding of the privacy risks of carrying a mobile phone, the new complaint states. More generally, the requested information is essential for ascertaining the "governments expansive view of its surveillance powers," the court filing said.
BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
The ACLUs 2007 request for information sought the expedited delivery of records concerning the DOJs role in tracking the location of individuals mobile phones without a warrant. In particular, the civil-liberties group sought information on the criminal prosecution of individuals tracked without court involvement.
"But remarkably, the Justice Department refused to respond quickly to the request, as the law requires when urgent information is at issue," said David L. Sobel, the EFFs co-counsel on the case. "Further delay will allow important privacy policies to be developed behind closed doors."
The original request for information included documents, memos and guides regarding the policies and procedures for tracking individuals through the use of their cell phones. Moreover, the ACLU sought to ascertain the number of times the government requested cell-phone location information without establishing probable cause as well as how many times the DOJs requests had been granted.
If the court compels the government to respond to the ACLUs request, the plaintiffs intend to disseminate the information to the public, "which has an overwhelming interest in the requested information, which concerns our most personal communications," Sobel said.
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