Muslim civil rights group says ruling affirms Fourth Amendment protections in the digital age
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that law enforcement must obtain a valid warrant before accessing Google users’ location history through so-called “geofence” searches.
In a 6-3 ruling in Chatrie v. United States, the Court recognized that obtaining Google’s location history data constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment and held that law enforcement must satisfy constitutional warrant requirements before accessing that highly sensitive information.
In a statement, CAIR National Litigation Director Lena Masri, Esq. said:
“Today’s geofencing decision by the Supreme Court is a major victory for privacy rights and the Fourth Amendment. The Supreme Court has reaffirmed that technological advances cannot be used to erode fundamental constitutional freedoms. As government surveillance capabilities continue to expand, courts must continue ensuring that privacy rights guaranteed by the Constitution remain meaningful.
“Americans should not have to fear that the government can secretly sift through the location histories of countless innocent people simply because they happened to be near the scene of a crime. Constitutional protections do not disappear in the digital age.”
She noted that geofence warrants allow law enforcement agencies to compel technology companies to disclose location information for every device within a designated geographic area during a specified time period. Civil liberties advocates have long argued that these broad searches function as unconstitutional digital dragnets by collecting information about large numbers of innocent people without individualized probable cause.
CAIR has consistently advocated for protecting Americans’ constitutional rights, including the rights to privacy, religious freedom, due process, and equal protection under the law.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com