ACLU Sues Government Over Secret Purchasing of GPS Data
That raises a constitutional issue, as it appears as if the federal government is trying to bypass the Fourth Amendment, which protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. The ACLU argued that, instead, the agencies involved should be seeking legitimate court warrants to track individuals.
It appears that—in the ACLU's view, at least—the Fourth Amendment protects people from unreasonable searches by the government, but not by private sector actors. I find this somewhat discouraging.
The world has changed somewhat since the 18th Century. When the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution it was not just highly unlikely, it was literally impossible for a private (or government) entity to collect the scope of personal information on anybody that Google, Facebook, Amazon, and numerous other organizations collect routinely today.
We've done a lousy job at keeping our Constitution, our laws, and even our understanding of government up to date.
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