Court's location data ruling spells the end of privacy

[Commentary] On May 31, the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the government does not need warrant to track the location of more than 200 million Americans with smartphones. It's an astonishing decision. Basically, according to the court, because the vast majority of us use cellphones and apps that track our locations, we've opted out of 4th Amendment privacy protections. Even more alarming, the court's ruling opens the door for the government to get access to all of our Internet-connected apps and software that have knowledge of our whereabouts.

The court reasoned that since we – the hundreds of millions of cellphone users in the US – have voluntarily disclosed our geolocation to a third party (our cellular providers), the third party can share that information with the government. But that reasoning really only make sense if we disclose our geolocation voluntarily. But as anyone who has ever attempted to opt-out of such tracking knows, there's nothing voluntary about it. In fact, this location tracking is mandatory – extending not just to our smartphones but even to other people's cellphone and devices. Keep in mind, our devices regularly connect to other phones, computers, and cars to collect their location and data. The court's ruling sets a remarkable precedent: Utilizing mobile technology is now a blanket opt-out of fundamental 4th Amendment privacy protections. I'm worried that we are headed along a dark trajectory – a dystopian future whereby everyday devices spy upon us more and more while privacy protections are whittled away to meaninglessness. We have the capacity to correct these egregious wrongs, but protecting our civil liberties in the 21st century requires bold leadership and a deeper understanding of today’s technological realities.

[Sascha Meinrath is Director of X-Lab]