Google data request by police is unconstitutional: Judge Napolitano
Police in Raleigh, North Carolina, are violating the Constitution when they ask Google to submit data about mobile devices in proximity to certain crimes, according to Judge Andrew Napolitano.
The capital city’s police reportedly used search warrants to request that Google turn over the records of an individual’s location over time.
“What police want – and I understand why they want it – does not even minimally comply with the Constitution,” Napolitano, a Fox News contributor, told FOX Business’ Stuart Varney.
A valid search warrant must be based on probable cause and reliable information and meet the requirement of stating specifically the place to be searched and the items to be seized, according to Napolitano.
In March 2017, Raleigh police requested information from anonymous Google accounts on anyone near where a crime was being committed. The information did not contain personal identification.
Napolitano said gathering mobile data is more intrusive than being under camera surveillance.
“When you give this up, you give up a lot more information,” he said. “I am holding up my iPhone, you give up a lot more information than what a surveillance camera would see. This is a gateway to almost anything they want to know about you, medical, legal, financial.”