PRIVACY + SECURITY BLOG

News, Developments, and Insights

high-tech technology background with eyes on computer display

Surveillance Law in Dire Need of Reform: The Promise of the LEADS Act

By Daniel J. Solove The law regulating government surveillance and information gathering is in dire need of reform. This law, which consists of the Fourth Amendment and several statutes, was created largely in the 1970s and 1980s and has become woefully outdated. The result is that law enforcement officials and intelligence agencies can readily find […]

People Care About Privacy Despite Their Behavior

It is often said that people don’t care much about privacy these days given how much information they expose about themselves. But survey after survey emphatically concludes that people really do care about privacy.

United States v. Jones and GPS Surveillance

Location Privacy 02a

The Supreme Court has long held that there is no expectation of privacy in public for the purposes of the Fourth Amendment.  Because the Fourth Amendment turns on the existence of a reasonable expectation of privacy, the Court’s logic means that the Fourth Amendment provides no protection to surveillance in public.  In United States v. Jones, the […]

GPS Surveillance and the Fourth Amendment: Thoughts on United States v. Jones

In United States v. Jones, FBI agents installed a GPS tracking device on Jones’ car and monitored where he drove for a month without a warrant.  Jones challenged the warrantless GPS surveillance as a violation of the Fourth Amendment.  The D.C. Circuit agreed with Jones.

More Fun with the Airline Screening Playset: Body Imaging X-Ray Edition!

Airline Screening Playset Playmobil Set 01

I’ve been following the recent controversy over the TSA’s body imaging X-ray machines, otherwise known as the “backscatter” or “exhibit-yourself-in-the-nude” devices.  It made me reminisce about an old post I wrote about the Playmobil airline screening playset. I had not used the playset for a while.  Five long years have elapsed since my post, and […]

Cell Phone Stalking

Cell Phone Location Tracking

According to the Wall St. Journal, “more than 25,000 adults in the U.S. are victims of GPS stalking annually, including by cellphone.”  The article notes that a cell phone account holder can track everyone on the account.  Users are notified by text message but can’t stop it. This tracking policy might work well with a […]