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| ACLU challenges 'stingray surveillance' that allows police to track cellphones | ACLU challenges 'stingray surveillance' that allows police to track cellphones |
| (4 months later) | |
| A secretive technology which lets police locate and track people through their cellphones in alleged violation of the US constitution will be challenged in a potential landmark court case on Thursday. | A secretive technology which lets police locate and track people through their cellphones in alleged violation of the US constitution will be challenged in a potential landmark court case on Thursday. |
| The American Civil Liberties Union hopes to rein in the little known but widespread "stingray" surveillance devices which it claims violate the fourth amendment and the right to privacy. | The American Civil Liberties Union hopes to rein in the little known but widespread "stingray" surveillance devices which it claims violate the fourth amendment and the right to privacy. |
| The group will urge a federal court in Arizona to disregard evidence obtained by a stingray in what could be a test case for limiting the technology's use without a warrant. | The group will urge a federal court in Arizona to disregard evidence obtained by a stingray in what could be a test case for limiting the technology's use without a warrant. |
| The case revolves around Daniel Rigmaiden, a hacker accused of leading a gang of sophisticated identity thieves which allegedly stole millions of dollars by filing bogus tax returns. | The case revolves around Daniel Rigmaiden, a hacker accused of leading a gang of sophisticated identity thieves which allegedly stole millions of dollars by filing bogus tax returns. |
| "We hope that the court sends the clear message to the government that it cannot keep judges in the dark. Judges are not rubber stamps – they are constitutional safeguards of our privacy," Linda Lyle, the attorney leading the case, wrote in an ACLU blog post on Wednesday. | "We hope that the court sends the clear message to the government that it cannot keep judges in the dark. Judges are not rubber stamps – they are constitutional safeguards of our privacy," Linda Lyle, the attorney leading the case, wrote in an ACLU blog post on Wednesday. |
| The Electronic Frontier Foundation, an advocacy group, submitted an amicus brief with the ACLU, calling stingrays "the biggest technological threat to cellphone privacy that you don't know about". | The Electronic Frontier Foundation, an advocacy group, submitted an amicus brief with the ACLU, calling stingrays "the biggest technological threat to cellphone privacy that you don't know about". |
| A stingray mimics a cellphone tower, prompting a phone to connect to it even if no call is made. This lets a stingray operator send a signal to the phone, locate it and in some cases intercept conversations. The device sweeps up data from other people nearby, regardless of whether they are the focus of the investigation. | A stingray mimics a cellphone tower, prompting a phone to connect to it even if no call is made. This lets a stingray operator send a signal to the phone, locate it and in some cases intercept conversations. The device sweeps up data from other people nearby, regardless of whether they are the focus of the investigation. |
| Stingray is the generic name for the technology. Similar devices, typically the size of a shoebox, have different names such as Triggerhead and Kingfish. | Stingray is the generic name for the technology. Similar devices, typically the size of a shoebox, have different names such as Triggerhead and Kingfish. |
| The FBI and other law enforcement agencies have used the technology at least since 2008 but according to the ACLU they have routinely concealed or downplayed its role in surveillance requests to federal magistrate judges. | The FBI and other law enforcement agencies have used the technology at least since 2008 but according to the ACLU they have routinely concealed or downplayed its role in surveillance requests to federal magistrate judges. |
| "By withholding information about this technology from courts in applications for electronic surveillance orders, the federal government is essentially seeking to write its own search warrants," said Lyle. | "By withholding information about this technology from courts in applications for electronic surveillance orders, the federal government is essentially seeking to write its own search warrants," said Lyle. |
| Through a Freedom of Information Act request the ACLU recently obtained what it called "troubling" emails dated May 2011 from Department of Justice officials in northern California who acknowledged not being explicit about stingrays in court applications for electronic surveillance. | Through a Freedom of Information Act request the ACLU recently obtained what it called "troubling" emails dated May 2011 from Department of Justice officials in northern California who acknowledged not being explicit about stingrays in court applications for electronic surveillance. |
| "It shows that the government was engaged in a widespread practice of withholding important information for judges, and that it did so for years," said Lyle. | "It shows that the government was engaged in a widespread practice of withholding important information for judges, and that it did so for years," said Lyle. |
| The EFF said in a statement that the technology's unrestricted use violated the fourth amendment's prohibition of unreasonable searches and seizures: | The EFF said in a statement that the technology's unrestricted use violated the fourth amendment's prohibition of unreasonable searches and seizures: |
| "If uninformed courts approve the unregulated use of stingrays, they are essentially allowing the government to enter into the home via a cellular signal at law enforcement's discretion and rummage at will without any supervision. The government can't simply use technology to upend centuries of constitutional law to conduct a search they would be prevented from doing physically." | "If uninformed courts approve the unregulated use of stingrays, they are essentially allowing the government to enter into the home via a cellular signal at law enforcement's discretion and rummage at will without any supervision. The government can't simply use technology to upend centuries of constitutional law to conduct a search they would be prevented from doing physically." |
| The FBI so values the technology it has a policy of deleting the data it gathers to keep suspects in the dark about its capabilities, the Wall Street Journal reported. | The FBI so values the technology it has a policy of deleting the data it gathers to keep suspects in the dark about its capabilities, the Wall Street Journal reported. |
| Privacy right advocates including the Electronic Privacy Information Center have rallied around the case of Rigmaiden, 32, who faces charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, mail fraud and aggravated identity theft in an alleged scam which netted $4m in multiple bank accounts. | Privacy right advocates including the Electronic Privacy Information Center have rallied around the case of Rigmaiden, 32, who faces charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, mail fraud and aggravated identity theft in an alleged scam which netted $4m in multiple bank accounts. |
| Rigmaiden has pleaded innocence and wants US district judge David Campbell to throw out evidence obtained by stingrays on grounds it violated his constitutional rights. | Rigmaiden has pleaded innocence and wants US district judge David Campbell to throw out evidence obtained by stingrays on grounds it violated his constitutional rights. |
| Prosecutors have argued Rigmaiden did not have reasonable "privacy expectations" in the whereabouts of his Verizon mobile broadband card and thus agents were not obliged to obtain a warrant. | Prosecutors have argued Rigmaiden did not have reasonable "privacy expectations" in the whereabouts of his Verizon mobile broadband card and thus agents were not obliged to obtain a warrant. |
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