BUSH REGIME USING CELLPHONE TRACKING FOR ILLEGAL TRACKING

||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

ELLEN NAKASHIMA, WASHINGTON POST - Federal officials are routinely
asking courts to order cell phone companies to furnish real-time
tracking data so they can pinpoint the whereabouts of drug traffickers,
fugitives and other criminal suspects, according to judges and industry
lawyers.

In some cases, judges have granted the requests without requiring the
government to demonstrate that there is probable cause to believe that a
crime is taking place or that the inquiry will yield evidence of a
crime. Privacy advocates fear such a practice may expose average
Americans to a new level of government scrutiny of their daily lives.

Such requests run counter to the Justice Department's internal
recommendation that federal prosecutors seek warrants based on probable
cause to obtain precise location data in private areas. The requests and
orders are sealed at the government's request, so it is difficult to
know how often the orders are issued or denied.

The issue is taking on greater relevance as wireless carriers are racing
to offer sleek services that allow cellphone users to know with the
touch of a button where their friends or families are. The companies are
hoping to recoup investments they have made to meet a federal mandate to
provide enhanced 911 location tracking. . . .

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/22/
AR2007112201444.html?hpid=topnews


||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||