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Friday, July 13, 2012

How Many Millions Of Cellphones Are Police Watching?

In response to a congressional inquiry [1], mobile phone companies on Monday finally disclosed just how many times they’ve handed over users’ cellphone data to the FBI and other law enforcement agencies. By the New York Times’ count [2], cellphone companies responded to 1.3 million demands for subscribers’ information last year from law enforcement. Many of the records, such as location data, don’t require search warrants or much court oversight.

Both police and cell service providers had long resisted releasing details on the scope of cellphone surveillance. But the new disclosures from cellphone companies still leave a slew of unanswered questions. Here’s what we have yet to learn.

So more than a million people had their cellphone records picked up law enforcement surveillance?

Actually, it’s probably far more than that, but we can’t know for sure.

While the Times calculated the number of overall requests from law enforcement, each of those requests could cover more than one person.

More

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

All, well soon to be all once that facility opens in the desert... the one that will track all calls foreign and domestic in and out of the country... oh and text and emails to... so nothing will be hidden...

Anonymous said...

All the bad press and people still buy cell phones. Makes you wounder if people like getting shafted.

Anonymous said...

Now I'm scared.So scared of what might happen to me that I threw my cell phone in the river after reading this.Holy cow,I hope they can't retrieve the actual conversations.I will be in really deep doo doo.Thanks for the heads up.

Anonymous said...

Well, we know they illegally accessed yours.
No one seems to care.
Even you.
Why no lawsuit there Joe?
That's the real crime in the spoof situation.

JoeAlbero said...

The statute is 2 years. One at a time.

Anonymous said...

Thank goodness Obama campaigned that he'd personally filibuster FISA. Then turned around and voted for. The ever evolving politician.

lmclain said...

A Brave New World. And all the things that go with it, none of them pleasant. Seig heil....

Anonymous said...

I say nothing on my cell phone that I don't want the commies to hear. I make arrangements to meet in person and leave my cellphone at home.

Anonymous said...

I say nothing on my cell phone that I don't want the commies to hear. I make arrangements to meet in person and leave my cellphone at home.

July 13, 2012 10:30 PM

lol what? seriously?