Government Considers Location Data to Track Coronavirus
According to the Washington Post, the U.S. Government is in active discussions with tech companies about tracking telephone customers to monitor the spread of the coronavirus. Cellphone data is currently protected under federal privacy law. In the Carpenter case, the Supreme Court made clear that government access to location information implicates the Fourth Amendment. EPIC has long advocated for protection of location privacy. EPIC pursued a lawsuit against a mobile app company that led to greater protection of users' location data. EPIC also successfully petitioned the FCC to safeguard sensitive data collected by phone companies. The FCC recently announced fines against T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint for selling customers' location information.
March 19, 2020| Share:
