The mobile phone in your pocket or purse knows a lot of secrets, including where you are right now.
The American Civil Liberties Union wants to know when and how often law enforcement is accessing that data. On Wednesday, the ACLU of Iowa announced it was asking Iowa’s five largest police departments to provide information on how they use cellphone location tracking data to monitor Iowans.
“Every Iowan with a cellphone is susceptible to tracking by the government,” said Randall Wilson, ACLU of Iowa legal director. “When people are being tracked, we want to know if there is probable cause and if a warrant has been obtained.”
Police can use cellphone software to locate and track cellphone movement, but law enforcement officers say their access to that data is both rare and restricted.
“I know of no cellphone company that will give us location data without a court order,” said Sioux City Police Detective Ken Welch. “If there is a belief out there that Big Brother is following everybody with a cellphone, they are mistaken at a minimum and maybe a little on the fringe.”
Telecommunications companies protect customer privacy but release information to law enforcement agencies by court order, said Michael Altschul, general counsel for CTIA – The Wireless Association, a Washington, D.C., cellphone company advocacy organization.
“We have a legal obligation to comply with those orders,” Altschul said.
ACLU of Iowa sent Freedom of Information requests for cellphone tracking information to police in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Sioux City, Iowa City and Davenport.
The requests are part of an effort by 34 ACLU state affiliates nationwide to determine how law enforcement uses cellphone tracking capabilities.
Since 2005, cellphones in use in the United States have had to be equipped with Enhanced 911, or E911, capabilities that allow emergency dispatchers to locate a telephone.
In the late 1990s, as cellphones became more common, law enforcement and emergency dispatchers raised concerns that they could not locate cellphone callers who were in distress. So the Federal Communications Commission, which regulates the cellphone industry, required the technology.
As of September 2012, the FCC will require cellphone companies to be able to locate a phone within 327 yards of the closest cellphone broadcast signal tower.
However, newer cellphones come with Global Positioning System software. The tool allows users to publicly share their locations, using applications such as Foursquare, wherever they are.
ACLU leaders are concerned that law enforcement officers will access GPS and E911 information without obtaining a court order or the knowledge of the wireless customer.
Also, technology moves faster than lawmakers, which means privacy statutes haven’t kept up with the latest gadgets, said Wilson, the Iowa ACLU legal director.
“Twenty-five years ago, we were arguing about cordless telephones and how access to those signals should be used,” Wilson said. “The laws have barely evolved since then. We need to keep track of how government is monitoring us and what they’re doing with the information.”
The ACLU survey is a step toward better privacy laws and awareness in the digital age, said Lillie Coney, associate director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a research and advocacy organization in Washington.
“Newer technology allows us to exchange a lot of information on a casual basis, some of it we are not even aware we are exchanging,” Coney said.
“This has greatly enhanced the surveillance capabilities of not only law enforcement but also companies that mine our personal data for research. We need to develop clear public policy on this issue, which is a growing concern.”
Police, however, say access to cellphone location data is rare.
“There might be an exigent circumstance, like a kidnapping in progress, where we would ask a cellphone company for that information without a court order, but a life or lives have to be on the line,” said Sgt. Chris Scott, Des Moines police spokesman. “Otherwise, we don’t get it without a court order. It just does not happen.”
Wilson, of the ACLU, said he just wants to make sure that’s the case.
“It’s my hope that Iowa law enforcement are a cut above the rest of the nation,” he said, “but I don’t think that we can just trust that is the case.”
Phone privacy basics
- Cellphones use GPS software and E911 technology to tell others the location of the device, sometimes within a few hundred feet.
- Generally, only your wireless company and the people you choose to share this information with have access to this data, but ACLU officials are concerned that law enforcement is using the information for unregulated surveillance.
- Most cellphones allow users to control how much location information can be accessed.
- Privacy advocates recommend checking your device manual or asking your wireless provider for tips on how to regulate settings.
- Pay close attention to what applications you install on your phone and how they use your cellphone location data.