Supreme Court Weighs Privacy Rights in Landmark Geofence Warrant Case
The Supreme Court heard arguments in Chatrie v. United States, a case examining whether police geofence warrants violate the Fourth Amendment. The case stems from a 2019 Virginia bank robbery where investigators used Google Maps Location History data to identify suspect Okello Chatrie. Police requested data on anyone within 300 meters of the crime scene, ultimately narrowing to three de-anonymized accounts. Chatrie's attorneys argue the warrantless location data collection constituted an unreasonable search, while the government contends users voluntarily shared data with Google. The ruling could reshape digital privacy rights and affect how law enforcement accesses data from tech companies.