Government Agencies Illegally Harvested Smartphone Location Data, Raising Privacy Concerns

A new government report has revealed that several US agencies, including Customs and Border Enforcement (ICE) and the Secret Service, illegally used smartphone location data harvested from iPhone and Android apps. The report confirms that these agencies broke the law by obtaining location data without proper authorization. Additionally, the report highlights that investigators are increasingly using warrants to obtain location and search data from Google, even for nonviolent cases and individuals who had nothing to do with the crime. This practice has raised concerns about the potential loss of civil liberties. Google has become a favorite tool for police investigations, but there have been instances where law enforcement obtained user data for people unrelated to the crime. The growing number of police departments seeking to obtain Google location data to help solve crimes has further raised privacy concerns. Overall, the report sheds light on the illegal use of smartphone location data by government agencies and the increasing reliance on Google data for police investigations.