Supreme Court considers whether police can use Big Tech data to capture info from all cellphone users in a place and time

Geofencing warrants round up the location data of everyone in a specific place and time, whether or not they had any connection to a crime – a test of the Fourth Amendment in the digital age.

By: Anne Toomey McKenna, Penn State, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: April 29, 2026

Words: 1,823

Last Updated: 3 months ago

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By Anne Toomey McKenna, Penn State

Google tracks the vast majority of cellphones in the United States, collecting your location, usage and device data through installed software and apps. The tracking occurs by various autonomous processes you cannot see or stop, even when you turn off location history, and Google and other companies keep that data for years. Outside of your control and wherever you go, your cellphone continuously creates a durable and revealing digital …

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