Location Transport

Uncle Sam Can Now Legally Track Your Exact PAST Movements by Your Cell Phone Records?

Cell phone companies continuously record your cell phone location (by triangulation). A federal court in Massachusetts has ruled that the government can ask for the records of your current and PAST locations if they have a reason to believe you might be involved with a crime. Why do Dems complain about the Patriot Act when this is the #1 way in which Uncle Sam can track you? http://www.wired.com/politics/onlinerights/commentary/circuitcourt/2007/09/circuitcourt_0925 "...last week out of the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts holds that law enforcement need show only "relevance to an ongoing investigation" to get a historical record of your past movement (something like the Jeffy trail in The Family Circus cartoon)." Your cell phone leaves a "trail of breadcrumbs" which Uncle Sam can use to find out where you were minute to minute over the past many months.

Public Comments

1. Why be nervous unless you have something to hide.
2. I don't mind. I never do anything that I would be ashamed for the government to watch me. They are welcome to do so.
3. I hope he gets excited seeing me go to work, home, and occasionally shopping.
4. Shut your phone off then.
5. Dont worry. Govenments never abuse power. Hahahahahaha
6. Well then! They can see that I am at work much of the time trying to pay for the damn lib social programs
7. The Police have been doing that for several years when they are looking for someone.
8. I wonder if they'll know I'm also buying bomb supplies at the local porn store.
9. Since Mr. Bush portrays himself as the embodiment of Uncle Sam, does that mean if I put my cell phone in my back pocket he can systematically kiss my saggy white hinney?
10. track me.......im legal.
11. did you know that they can even listen to you on your cell phone, even when it is powered off. it is referred to as a "roving bug".....
12. I have no problem with this method of investigating. Law abiding citizens have nothing to worry about. If my loved one was murdered I would want law enforcement to be able to track any suspects in any way possible.
13. All the more reason that only apolitical people of the highest ethical standing should be allowed in law enforcement. Like it or not, new technology in its infancy will be utilized to its fullest potential regardless of the Bill of Rights, and will be abused time to time.
14. I don't ONLY complain about the Patriot Act. That was a huge expansion that made the other stuff look legal. A lot of this stuff going on. Wired also had an article about the NSA keeping notes about air passengers and we don't know how long. They noted gifts he was bringing back, what novel he was reading...there is a lot to keep up with but I hate all of it.
15. NOT ME. I do not have or use a cell phone. I listen to the conversations, how can you help it, the people with them nearly shout, and I very seldom hear anything of substance. Most just chit-chat about nothing in particular. They just prattle away about nothing.
16. Before I pull a "caper" I turn it off and leave it at home.
17. The article does not state when the laws mentioned were passed. My guess would be within the past 6 years. The Patriot Act was just one of several passed that sought to expand surveillance rights for police & spy agencies. Many provisions of these laws are making their way through the courts with some being found unconstitutional. I would think this case will follow the same route since it is a Federal case, which is usually serious.
18. I don't care, I've said it before, I've got nothing to hide.
19. Kind of mixed on this one. That is how they track missing persons and lost hikers as well as hunt down people after a felony has occurred. That is how they get a lot of murders because they will trace the victims cell phone. If your worried about it you can always cut off your phone though.
20. You sound worried. What do you have to hide?
21. People who say that they don't care if they are spied on because they are not doing anything wrong make me want to vomit... on them! "Those who would give up liberty for a little temporary safety deserve to be kicked in the shins until permanently hobbled."
22. The federal government is also tracking people's movement by watching not only the records of air and train travel, but also the scans that are taken from the internet e-tickets in real time. And, they are also tracking what people are reading with the bar scans at book stores and magazine stores. it was on NPR yesterday. Scarey stuff. This is an invasion of everyone's privacy, we should stop making excuses for this fascist government. How many rights to privacy are people willing to give up? How long before these same people willing to give up their privacy and freedoms demand a bar code tattoo on everyone in the country?