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Warrantless Device Inspections Surge at the U.S. Border by David Kim by David Kim Travelers entering the United States are facing intensifying scrutiny—not just of their luggage but of their smartphones, laptops, and other digital devices—as border agents increasingly conduct warrantless searches, sometimes copying personal data for further analysis. Civil …
Article • March 15, 2025 • from CLN April, 2025
EFF Launches Rayhunter: A New Tool to Detect Covert Cellular Surveillance by David Kim by David Kim The Electronic Frontier Foundation (“EFF”) has announced Rayhunter, an open-source tool designed to detect cell-site simulators (“CSS”), devices often used by law enforcement and others to covertly track mobile phones. Running on an …
Cell-Site Simulator Proposal: A Glimpse Inside the Black Box Whose Secrets Are Protected by NDAs and Obfuscation by Michael Thompson by Michael Dean Thompson The cell-site simulator (“CSS”) is a powerful and largely unregulated device once designed for military intelligence use that has found its way onto the streets of …
Article • October 1, 2024 • from CLN October, 2024
Fifth Circuit Announces Geofence Warrants Are Unconstitutional ‘Modern-Day General Warrants’ by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that geofence warrants violate the Fourth Amendment because they constitute a “general warrant.” However, the evidence acquired in the case as a result of …
Federal Judges Closing Loophole That Permits Government to Conduct Warrantless Searches of Cellphones at Border by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney In a series of rulings from federal judges, the loophole allowing government agents from Customs and Border Patrol (“CBP”) to search cellphones without a warrant is closing. According to …
The FBI Really Doesn’t Want the Public to Know About This Surveillance Device by Michael Thompson by Michael Dean Thompson The American Civil Liberties Union (“ACLU”) successfully sued for access to FBI information regarding cell-site simulators (“CSS”). For years, the FBI has used nondisclosure agreements (“NDA”) to hide their use …
Bluetooth Surveillance Tool Added to List of Known Cache of DHS’ Surveillance Technology by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) has an impressive cache of surveillance technology that includes, inter alia, automated license plate readers (“ALPR”) and cell-­site simulators (“CSS”). The latest tracking and surveillance …
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Affirms Trial Court’s Exclusion of Expert Testimony on iPhone’s Frequent Location History Data as Not Sufficiently Reliable Under Daubert-Lanigan Standard by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney   In a case of first impression, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court affirmed a trial court’s exclusion of expert testimony …
Stinging Back: Resisting Government Surveillance of Cellphones by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso A cell-site simulators (“CSS”)—often referred to as a “Stingray” device, after a popular brand—is one of the newest and most controversial law enforcement tools since the introduction of the wiretap. Its use represents the intersection of …
Cellular Roaming’s Inadequate Security by Michael Thompson by Michael Dean Thompson Cellphones must be able to continue providing service when connected to networks other than those to which their owners subscribe. The ability to roam beyond the subscriber’s borders without interruption of service is available because network providers across the …
Googling Your Privacy by Michael Thompson by Michael Dean Thompson Google is the unrivaled search giant, and its Android is the second most widely used cellphone operating system in the U.S. Their additional offer of free software is all designed to leverage what they know about you and increase the …
Article • November 1, 2023 • from CLN November, 2023
Geofencing January 6th by Michael Thompson by Michael Dean Thompson The breaching of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, shocked many Americans. Government filings uncovered since then suggest that even as the unrest raged, law enforcement had begun filing geofence warrants. We now understand that 1,535 names associated with phones …
Article • September 1, 2023 • from CLN September, 2023
Filed under: Stingray
Geofence Warrants: Little-Known Search Makes Innocent People Suspects Simply for Having a Phone Near a Crime Scene by Douglas Ankney by Anthony W. Accurso The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees “[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches …
Article • August 1, 2023 • from CLN August, 2023
Your Texts, Emails, and Location Are Available to Law Enforcement, Regardless of How Law-Abiding You Are by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott Your attachment to interacting with social media and browsing the internet on your cellphone allows the government and law enforcement wide-open access to a disturbing amount …
Article • May 15, 2023 • from CLN June, 2023
California Court of Appeal: Geofence Warrant Violates ‘Particularity’ Requirement of Fourth Amendment and Is ‘Overbroad’ but Good Faith Exception Applies Because of the Novelty of Geofence Warrants at Time Sought and Executed by Richard Resch by Richard Resch The Court of Appeal of California, Second Appellate District, held that a …
Article • May 15, 2023 • from CLN June, 2023
California Court Rejects Geofence Warrant by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W Accurso A California trial court held that ageofence warrant obtained by the San Francisco PD violated the Fourth Amendment and the recently enacted California Electronic Communications Privacy Act (“CalECPA”), requiring future warrants to be more narrowly tailored. People v. …
Secret Service and ICE Used Stingray Devices Without Warrants, Watchdog Finds by A government watchdog has found that the Secret Service and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) used cell-site simulators, also known as “stingrays,” without warrants on multiple occasions. The findings, published by the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general, …
Article • April 15, 2023 • from CLN May, 2023
California Court Rejects Geofence Warrant by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W Accurso A California trial court held that a geofencewarrant obtained by the San Francisco PD violated the Fourth Amendment and the recently enacted California Electronic Communications Privacy Act (“CalECPA”), requiring future warrants to be more narrowly tailored. People v. …
Article • April 15, 2023 • from CLN May, 2023
Vermont Supreme Court Announces ‘Pinging’ Cellphone to Obtain Real-Time CSLI Constitutes a Search Requiring a Warrant or Recognized Exception by Richard Resch by Richard Resch The Supreme Court of Vermont held that individuals have a reasonable expectation of privacy under the state Constitution in their real-time cell site location information …
Article • March 15, 2023 • from CLN April, 2023
The Mounting Geofencing Threat by Michael Thompson by Michael Dean Thompson The January 6th Capitol riot illustrates how geofencing warrants are threatening American citizens. As part of the investigations into the events, the FBI served a geofencing warrant to Google that demanded a list of all the devices in or …
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