Supreme Court rules that broad cellphone location data sweeps require warrants

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Monday that law enforcement must obtain a warrant before using broad cellphone location data, holding that such "geofence" surveillance qualifies as a search under the Fourth Amendment.

The case stemmed from a 2019 Virginia bank robbery in which a thief made off with $195,000 from a Midlothian credit union. Investigators tied Okello Chatrie to the scene using data Google supplied on phones present at the time. The court rejected the Trump administration's contention that no warrant was needed, but ruled narrowly, declining to decide whether the specific warrant in Chatrie's case passed muster. That question returns to the lower courts.

Justice Elena Kagan, writing for the majority, warned that vast troves of location data could give the government a "virtual panopticon" to monitor citizens. Justice Samuel Alito dissented, arguing no warrant should be required and branding the decision an "irresponsible escapade."

Privacy advocates, who view geofence warrants as dragnet surveillance, welcomed the outcome.