Vermont Business MagazineThe USSupreme Court Friday issued an opinion inCarpenter v. U.S.,holding that the Fourth Amendment generally requires the government to obtain a warrant to obtain geolocation information through cell-site location information. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), a leading member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the lead sponsor of the bipartisan Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) Modernization Act (S.1657), released the following comment:
“The Supreme Court’s decision perfectly illustrates that old legal constructions, like the third-party doctrine, struggle to keep up with our ‘seismic shifts in digital technology.’ As more and more of our sensitive information is held by third parties, this decision is a step forward in ensuring that our most private information — our communications, our photos, our financial and medical records, our every location — receives the Fourth Amendment protection it deserves.
“But Congress must not rely on the courts to modernize our antiquated privacy laws. My ECPA Modernization Act, which I introduced with Senator Lee, would have required a warrant for precisely the type of geolocation information at issue inCarpenter. It would also close other major loopholes in protecting our Fourth Amendment privacy rights, like requiring a warrant for electronic content. Congress must not abdicate its own responsibilities as technology advances, and it should quickly take up our legislation to accomplish these key reforms.”