US Supreme Court Rules Location History Protected Under Fourth Amendment

The US Supreme Court ruled on Monday that location history, including data from third-party providers like Google, is protected under the Fourth Amendment, requiring a warrant for government access. The 6-3 decision, with Justice Elena Kagan penning the majority opinion, found that the government needs a warrant and must show reasonable cause to access such data, drawing parallels to previous rulings on cellphone tracking.

The case centered around Okello Chatrie, who was tracked down using geofence warrants after an armed bank robbery. Chatrie had opted into sharing his location with Google. The majority argued that the widespread use of location-tracking services in modern life does not diminish the expectation of privacy, emphasizing that even short-term location data can reveal sensitive information about an individual.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor noted that location data can expose details about personal associations and activities, particularly when visiting sensitive locations. The ruling was welcomed by privacy advocates, who saw it as a reaffirmation of privacy rights, though some noted it stopped short of declaring geofence warrants inherently unconstitutional.

The tech industry, via the Computer & Communications Industry Association, supported the decision, highlighting the clarification that privacy protections apply regardless of the technology involved.

In dissent, Justice Samuel Alito argued for an app-by-app approach, warning of upheaval in Fourth Amendment jurisprudence. He suggested the ruling could unnecessarily complicate access to location data from various services. The majority, however, emphasized the need for a common standard to avoid future legal confusion and underscored that modern cellphone use inherently involves third-party location tracking.

The decision remands to the lower court the question of whether the search in Chatrie’s case was reasonable, to be decided under the clarified Fourth Amendment standards.