Some privacy news to freak you out this fine Monday. A court ruling in Wisconsin means that police there can track your movements with a GPS device without a warrant. So, let’s say you’re suspected of something. The police can then slap a Garmin on your car, without any permission from the courts, and follow your car’s movements about town. Sorta scary, sure.
Of course, the police are hailing the decision, saying it’ll do wonders to protect the public at larger, etc. On the other hand, privacy advocates, like the ACLU, are all, “Yeah, this is a gross violation of one’s privacy, and makes the Fourth Amendment a sad clown.” Exact words, I swear.
To be fair, the court, which approved the use of warrant-less GPS by likening it to old fashioned police surveillance, French Connection-style, asked the state legislature to look into whether or not there should be a law on the books that prevented the use of warrant-less GPS. As it stands, and as the court interpreted, there’s nothing of the sort right now. Hence, the pro-GPS decision.
This is the part where I throw in scary words and phrases like Police State, Big Brother, 1984, etc.