Jon L. Mills and Alexandra Williams write:
Several years ago, Zack McCoy became a criminal suspect simply for riding his bike. His crime? Using a fitness app that placed him near the scene of a burglary. While McCoy was eventually cleared, his story illustrates a troubling reality: emerging surveillance technologies pose unprecedented threats to our constitutional rights.
Emerging technologies like geofencing and artificial intelligence can be powerful tools for law enforcement in solving crimes. And society’s increasing reliance on and integration of technology into our lives enhances the ability of these technologies to gather data that can be used in investigations. But we should be wary of giving up our constitutional protections against government surveillance in favor of convenience.
Currently there are dueling circuit court opinions on geofencing and the constitutionality of this investigative tool. This conflict presents an opportunity to redefine two fundamental issues of Fourth Amendment doctrine: What is the role of the broad third-party doctrine in the modern age and are certain surveillance technologies so intrusive that they constitute an unreasonable search which creates a “permeating police presence” that is the equivalent of an unconstitutional general warrant?
Read more at Law.com.