Skip to main content

Judge rules government can search your phone location history without a warrant

Making the hairs on the back of every privacy advocate’s neck stand up, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled that the government does not need a warrant in order to search cellphone location records held by wireless carriers, reported Motherboard.

The ruling, which reversed a federal district court decision issued last year, arose in the context of a case involving Quartavious Davis, who was a suspect in a series of armed robberies. Prosecutors obtained 11,606 location records from Davis’ wireless carrier, MetroPCS, which is how they tracked him. Davis’ lawyers argued that the records were inadmissible, since they were acquired without a warrant or probable cause. His lawyers argued that this tracking activity constituted an unreasonable search and seizure in violation of Fourth Amendment.

Recommended Videos

Unfortunately for Davis and his lawyers, the Eleventh Circuit saw things a little differently, holding that the obtaining of Davis’ MetroPCS location records did not involve “physical intrusion on private property or a search at all,” according to the decision. Because of this, the Court ruled that it did not violate the Fourth Amendment.

The Court ruled that there was no expectation of privacy toward the records, a ruling that fully reversed last year’s ruling in the case at the district court level.

“We hold that cell site location information is within the subscriber’s reasonable expectation of privacy,” read last year’s decision. “The obtaining of that data without a warrant is a Fourth Amendment violation.”

Privacy and digital rights advocates aren’t too thrilled with the ruling, arguing that this will set a precedent for the government to easily acquire other kinds of records in the future, such as your web-browsing history.

“It’s a shame the Court felt confined by a case decided from the 1970s to decide the constitutionality of a very modern form of surveillance,” Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) surveillance law expert and attorney told Motherboard.

Keep in mind, however, that this ruling is legally binding only in the Eleventh Circuit, which covers Florida, Georgia, and Alabama.  Davis’ lawyers may appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, so we’ll keep you posted with any updates.

Williams Pelegrin
Williams is an avid New York Yankees fan, speaks Spanish, resides in Colorado, and has an affinity for Frosted Flakes. Send…
These are the 4 best alternatives to the Google Pixel 9a
A person taking the Google Pixel 9a out of a pocket.

The best cheap phone race has been reignited by the Google Pixel 9a, which brings the Google Pixel 9 series experience at a significantly lower price. Starting at $449, Google’s latest Pixel offers the flagship processor of its siblings for flagship-level performance, an excellent camera, and long-term software support.

Yet, Google’s software experience won’t be for everyone; there are obvious tradeoffs in the specs sheet to enable the low price; the camera bar design is somewhat polarizing for long-term fans, and there’s no telephoto camera. 

Read more
Apple and Samsung rivalling phones, earbuds and more due at huge July event
The OnePlus Summer Launch Event has five new products, including the Nord 5 and Pad 3 Lite
Five OnePlus products launching in July 2025

OnePlus has confirmed it will host a bumper launch event on July 8, where it will announce five new products, covering phones, headphones, wearables and tablets.

The range of new devices will join the OnePlus 13, OnePlus 13R and OnePlus Pad 3 which arrived earlier this year as the Chinese firm fills out its product offering to compete against Apple, Samsung and co.

Read more
You Asked: Big OLED vs. Huge Mini-LED? Your WWDC 2025 Questions Answered!
You Asked Ep. 95: Big OLED vs. Huge Mini-LED?

On today’s episode of You Asked: Should you pick the LG G4 or Sony Bravia 9 for a bright room? What were some of the biggest takeaways from Apple’s jam-packed WWDC event? And one more fun debate: go with an 83-inch OLED or a 98-inch Mini LED TV?

Sony Bravia 9 vs. LG G4: Best for bright rooms?

Read more