SCOTUS ruled in 2020 government agents can be sued for violating constitutional rights: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/19-71_qol1.pdf
Virginia police routinely use secret GPS pings to track people’s cell phones
41–50 of 271 posts
Re: Virginia police routinely use secret GPS pings to track people’s cell phones
#42Does anybody have info on how this works on a technical level? I.e., is it an actual report of the phone’s GPS position, or is it tower-side triangulation? If the former, do all devices support it?
It's possible the technical details were lost on the journalist. I mean, maybe this secret ping really exists or perhaps they're just using the tower based phone location system that they developed for Phase I of e911 support.
Re: Virginia police routinely use secret GPS pings to track people’s cell phones
#43Does anybody have info on how this works on a technical level? I.e., is it an actual report of the phone’s GPS position, or is it tower-side triangulation? If the former, do all devices support it?
Both, depending on what features are supported by the handset and/or network. Earlier phases of e911 compliance did it with triangulation, and later phases do it with GPS location. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_9-1-1#Wireless_locati...
Hunh. Does this definitely use the e911 system for tracking? If so, there’s sort of a well-poisoning thing going on here. Most people would like 911 be able to figure out where they’re calling from in an emergency, but if this is going to be abused for surveillance purposes people are going to want to disable the phone-side portion of it - which prevents it from helping in an emergency. On that note, can this even be disabled on iOS/android? I didn’t see anything obvious in iOS settings (not that I’m itching to disable it - just curious if I even can!).
In any case, I would like my device to report whenever the network does something unusual, like request my location or put in a no-ring call. I wonder if you can make a pinephone or Android do that.
Re: Virginia police routinely use secret GPS pings to track people’s cell phones
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
Agreed. I think we need to put as much blame on the carriers providing these capabilities to anyone , let alone the police. That the police are publicly funded and are buying this data with my money is also a huge issue to me, but if I had to pick one thing to change, I’d make selling this data illegal. That way, no one could have it.
That’s what the warrant requirement is all about, that’s where it’s broken. This technique should only be used for major felonies. On the flip side, if you want to commit major felonies, don’t take your phone!
Or rather, please do.
Re: Virginia police routinely use secret GPS pings to track people’s cell phones
#45Does anybody have info on how this works on a technical level? I.e., is it an actual report of the phone’s GPS position, or is it tower-side triangulation? If the former, do all devices support it?
Re: Virginia police routinely use secret GPS pings to track people’s cell phones
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
No, it looks like a 2 years location dragnet warrant issued against someone for merely being around someone experiencing an overdose. IMO, this should be completely unconstitutional.
Where is it stated that he was tracked for 2 years?
It doesn't, it says 30 days and renewable by the court.
Re: Virginia police routinely use secret GPS pings to track people’s cell phones
#47Sounds like they're doing it with court-issued warrants with probable cause, so it's not as horrifying as the title makes it sound. It's "secret" to the suspect but it's not like the police department has taken it onto themselves to start a new cellphone tracking program.
> with probable cause It appears to be a lower standard; reasonable suspicion, perhaps.
How does that appear? The article says,
> Officers simply have to attest in an affidavit that they have probable cause that the tracking data is “relevant to a crime that is being committed or has been committed.”
The term "reasonable suspicion" doesn't appear in the article at all.
Re: Virginia police routinely use secret GPS pings to track people’s cell phones
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
Virginia as a whole has some pretty absurdly pro police laws, at least re: driving. The lesser of either 20 over the speed limit or any speed over ~80~ 85 miles an hour (thanks jmisavage) in Virginia is a misdemeanor, and at least one auto journalist has been jailed in Virginia. https://jalopnik.com/never-speed-in-virginia-lessons-from-my... It's also the only state to prohibit radar detectors.
> It's also the only state to prohibit radar detectors Which is arguably outside of the state’s jurisdiction. Only the FCC has the authority to regulate the airwaves and specifically transmitters and receivers. I bet that cop’s radar gun has an FCC sticker on it.
Maybe they are not regulating radio receiver usage, but the just the possession of it, which would be a separate kind of regulatory space.
Re: Virginia police routinely use secret GPS pings to track people’s cell phones
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
Virginia as a whole has some pretty absurdly pro police laws, at least re: driving. The lesser of either 20 over the speed limit or any speed over ~80~ 85 miles an hour (thanks jmisavage) in Virginia is a misdemeanor, and at least one auto journalist has been jailed in Virginia. https://jalopnik.com/never-speed-in-virginia-lessons-from-my... It's also the only state to prohibit radar detectors.
Considering the effects of driving at these speeds, I'd say the legal absurdity is the other 49 states not having similar punishments for people who drive at these incredibly dangerous speeds. An enormous amount of people die or acquire permanent, life-altering disabilities at the hands of people who were speeding and crashed.
To add to the other comment, your idea ignores the history of speed limits and how they aren’t just for safety. For example how the highways were reduced to 55mph during the 70s oil crisis as an indirect way to ration gasoline. Or how small towns will lower sections of road for the specific purpose of creating a revenue-generating speed trap.