Statement: SCOTUS Upholds Right to Privacy in Chatrie v. U.S.

Yesterday the Supreme Court ruled in Chatrie v. U.S. that mobile phone users have an expectation of privacy from the government even when using apps that track their location data.

Defending Rights & Dissent issued the following statement in response to the ruling:

Today the Supreme Court agreed with privacy and free speech advocates. In Chatrie v U.S., they held that our location data is protected by the Fourth Amendment, and we don’t forfeit our privacy just by carrying a cell phone or using apps. This case also has important implications for the First Amendment, protecting us from police using geofence dragnets to identify everyone at a protest or attending a specific religious service. We applaud this ruling as a crucial defense of privacy and free expression.

Defending Rights & Dissent had signed on to an amicus brief in the case alongside the Center for Democracy and Technology, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, and the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, in support of Chatrie’s right to privacy:

A ruling that fails to properly shield the public from improper use of modern surveillance technologies like geofence warrants could lead to unfettered government access to highly personal information about hundreds of thousands if not millions of users’ visits and routes, including their travel to private spaces such as homes, hospitals, and places of worship that are unrelated to the underlying investigation. Such a ruling permitting the use of geofence warrants could also open the door to the use of other novel reverse warrants that pose broad risks to individuals’ privacy. 

Find more information about the case at SCOTUSblog, and read our full amicus brief here.