MDenham wrote:
No, I'm suggesting that the whole set of complaints that you and everyone else in this thread is having are stupid, and there is no actual Fourth Amendment violation going on at all.
A host of previous SCOTUS rulings would tend to disagree with you.
The protection against unreasonable searches of one's person and effects has historically included not allowing the government to put a tracking device on someone (or say, in their cell phone) without a warrant, which is effectively what a cell phone becomes in this situation (to varying degrees depending on which sort of search we're talking about of course).
And while one can argue that a person chooses to carry a cell phone and/or chooses to make a call using one, the SCOTUS usually frowns on what is essentially a shrinkwrap agreement requiring everyone to give away their rights upon purchase and use of a product (like a cell phone). The question isn't whether there is an infringement (there is), but where the SCOTUS is going to decide to draw the line in terms of when a warrant is required. That line is likely to lie somewhere between obtaining basic call usage data and actively tracking where everyone carrying a cell phone is at any given time.
Quote:
But you keep assuming, for whatever reason, that my political standpoint is almost exactly the opposite of what it actually is...
I don't know what other assumptions were made about any of your posts, but my issue is that you are making statements which are factually incorrect and which lead one to assume you do hold a position in opposition to the principle of privacy protection. It's all well and good for someone to insist that they believe in and support privacy rights, but when that same person insists that governments tracking people by homing in on their cell phones without using a warrant isn't a violation of those rights, it calls to question either their honestly or their understanding of the issue as a whole.
It's kinda like someone insisting that they are opposed to stealing, but then arguing that shoplifting isn't really stealing...
Edited, Feb 12th 2010 8:43pm by gbaji