Unwarranted Cellular Tracking in The United States Essay -- Personal F

In this day and age of technology and digital information, finding the location of a restaurant or landmark only takes the click of a button. At the same time, the technology being used for directions and GPS allows the government to find the location of anyone at any given moment, watching over all as they so please. The prevalence of unwarranted cell phone tracking is extremely high, so much so that a case was taken to the Supreme Court to debate the issue. It was decided in this case, United States v. Jones, that a device having its movements tracked is the same as trespassing on property (United States Supreme Court). More recently than this, the American Civil Liberties Union released several public records detailing the process police departments use before tracing cell phone locations. Shockingly, it was revealed that a large majority of departments around the country fail to acquire a proper warrant before tracking suspects (Crump). Considering the ubiquity of cell phones in society today, jokes about the government turning into a "Big Brother" watching over citizens have nearly become a reality in the U.S., with tremendous worries about what little privacy there is left. What was once thought of as a handy communication tool has now turned into a traveling tracker for the police to spy on the common man with. Imagine, every step outside of a denizen's home being tracked step for step. This was entirely unknown before, and the revelation of such broke the illusion of safety civilians thought they had. Law enforcement agencies shouldn't be allowed to so freely track cell phones without the use of a warrant, it violates a citizen's rights, gives no regard to privacy, and creates an inconsistent legal standard within ag... ...media story brings this issue to light again. Making the push to put reform on this matter and enacting a law to require warrants will restore the values law enforcement agencies are meant to uphold, and bring back the sense of security that is seldom found in society today. Works Cited Clark, M. Wesley. Cell Phones as Tracking Devices, 41 Val. U. L. Rev. 1413 (2007). Crump, C.. "Results of nationwide government cell phone tracking records request show frequent violations of Americans' privacy rights." . N.p., 2012. Web. 22 May 2012. Lightblau, Eric. "Police Are Using Phone Tracking as a Routine Tool." www.nytimes.com. New York Times, 03/3. Web. 28 May 2012. U.S. Supreme Court, . "United States v. Jones Opinion."supremecourt.gov. Us Government, 2012. Web. 28 May 2012. "Cell Tracking." Electronic frontier foundation. EFF, n.d. Web. 22 May 2012.