This has become especially controversial since several of the Company\u2019s clients include several government entities, including Virginia State Police.[5]<\/a> Police have been able to use the technology to sweep an area to see which phones were in a particular location at a given time.[6]<\/a> The technology has been used in several criminal investigations, including the murder of a nurse in Arkansas in 2018 and tracing participants from the January 6, 2021, attack on the capital.[7]<\/a> However, the technology is rarely, if ever, mentioned in court documents.[8]<\/a><\/p>\n Fog Data Science has maintained that the data collected is anonymous and isn\u2019t tied to individuals.[9]<\/a> However, the true nature of Fog Reveal came to light when a digital privacy nonprofit called \u2018Electronic Frontier Foundation\u2019 publicized information through the Freedom of Information Act that found the data collected was indeed linked to individuals.[10]<\/a> A senior attorney for Electronic Frontier Foundation said it\u2019s \u201cchild\u2019s play\u201d for police to figure out the identity of any given cellphone user based on their individual patterns of life, including where they live, sleep, and work.[11]<\/a><\/p>\n The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in Carpenter v. United States that the Constitution\u2019s Fourth Amendment protects individuals from unreasonable search and seizures by requiring law enforcement agencies to obtain a warrant before tracking someone using a GPS device or cell site location information.[12]<\/a> However, Fog Reveal technology has been used as a loophole to get around these requirements and to gather the same information without court oversight or public transparency. This technology usage has brought to light to many the differences between Electronic surveillance and data privacy. Under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and Fourth Amendment of the Constitution, law enforcement officers are required to get a warrant based on probable cause if they wish to intercept communications or track a person\u2019s location.[13]<\/a> However, the concern raised by many is that there aren\u2019t any comprehensive laws that protect people from their data being bought and sold to government agencies and private entities.<\/p>\n However, there is hope. Civil Rights lawyers and Senators have started pushing for legislation limiting law enforcement’s ability to purchase peoples\u2019 data without a warrant.[14]<\/a> But until any meaningful steps are taken, data capturing will continue to expand in both the public and private sectors as the unregulated data market grows.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Jason Dearen & Garance Burke, Senators push to reform police\u2019s cellphone tracking tools,<\/em> ABC 13 News (September 29, 2022), https:\/\/wset.com\/news\/local\/senators-push-to-reform-polices-cellphone-tracking-tools-fog-reveal-virginia-data-science-tracking-democrats-lawyers-civil-rights.<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Ben Paviour, Virginia State Police is using software to track cellphone location data,<\/em> VPM News (January 12, 2023, 12:54 AM), https:\/\/vpm.org\/news\/articles\/38757\/virginia-state-police-is-using-software-to-track-cellphone-location-data.<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> Anne McKenna, What is Fog Reveal? A legal scholar explains the app some police forces are using to track people without a warrant,<\/em> The Conversation (October 17, 2022, 8:31 AM), https:\/\/theconversation.com\/what-is-fog-reveal-a-legal-scholar-explains-the-app-some-police-forces-are-using-to-track-people-without-a-warrant-189944.<\/p>\n [4]<\/a> Garance Burke & Jason Dearen, Tech tool offers police \u2018mass surveillance on a budget,\u2019<\/em> AP (September 2, 2022), https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/technology-police-government-surveillance-d395409ef5a8c6c3f6cdab5b1d0e27ef.<\/p>\n [5]<\/a> Paviour, supra<\/em> note 2.<\/p>\n [6]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n [7]<\/a> Dearen & Burke, supra<\/em> note 1.<\/p>\n [8]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n [9]<\/a> Paviour, supra<\/em> note 2.<\/p>\n [10]<\/a> McKenna, supra<\/em> note 3.<\/p>\n [11]<\/a> Paviour, supra<\/em> note 2.<\/p>\n [12]<\/a> Carpenter v. United States,<\/em> 138 S. Ct. 2206 (2018).<\/p>\n [13]<\/a> Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, 18 U.S.C. \u00a7\u00a7 2510-2523.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/jolt.richmond.edu\/files\/2023\/01\/Image.jpg\")
<\/p>\n