Government entities can track individuals\u2019 smartphone geolocation data even when there\u2019s no cell service or if phones are in airplane mode, according to technology website Wired. The confirmation came in a report about the FBI\u2019s tactics to find participants in the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.<\/p>\n
In a\u00a0November 28 report<\/a>, Wired investigative science and technology reporter Mark Harris highlighted evidence uncovered from January 6 court records. According to the filings, FBI officials served a bevy of so-called \u201cgeofence warrants\u201d to Google to access smartphone location data belonging to individuals suspected of taking part in the riot.<\/p>\n The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL)\u00a0has defined<\/a>\u00a0geofence warrants as \u201ca type of reverse warrant where the government seeks to know who was within a \u2018geofence,\u2019 a defined physical area during a specific period of time.\u201d According to the NACDL, the warrants present \u201can unprecedented increase in the government\u2019s ability to locate individuals without substantial investigation or investment of resources.\u201d The group said such warrants violate the Fourth Amendment \u201cbecause they are devoid of probable cause and particularity.\u201d<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.lifesitenews.com\/news\/fbi-tracked-jan-6-protesters-location-even-if-phones-were-in-airplane-mode-report\/?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u2018[T]he January 6 cases are going to be used to build a doctrine that will essentially enable police to find almost anyone with a cellphone or a smart device in ways that we, as a society, haven\u2019t quite grasped yet,\u2019 … Continue reading