Posted on 04/20/2011 6:05:29 AM PDT by Red Badger
ACLU seeks information on Michigan program that allows cops to download information from smart phones belonging to stopped motorists
The Michigan State Police have a high-tech mobile forensics device that can be used to extract information from cell phones belonging to motorists stopped for minor traffic violations. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan last Wednesday demanded that state officials stop stonewalling freedom of information requests for information on the program.
ACLU learned that the police had acquired the cell phone scanning devices and in August 2008 filed an official request for records on the program, including logs of how the devices were used. The state police responded by saying they would provide the information only in return for a payment of $544,680. The ACLU found the charge outrageous.
"Law enforcement officers are known, on occasion, to encourage citizens to cooperate if they have nothing to hide," ACLU staff attorney Mark P. Fancher wrote. "No less should be expected of law enforcement, and the Michigan State Police should be willing to assuage concerns that these powerful extraction devices are being used illegally by honoring our requests for cooperation and disclosure."
A US Department of Justice test of the CelleBrite UFED used by Michigan police found the device could grab all of the photos and video off of an iPhone within one-and-a-half minutes. The device works with 3000 different phone models and can even defeat password protections.
"Complete extraction of existing, hidden, and deleted phone data, including call history, text messages, contacts, images, and geotags," a CelleBrite brochure explains regarding the device's capabilities. "The Physical Analyzer allows visualization of both existing and deleted locations on Google Earth. In addition, location information from GPS devices and image geotags can be mapped on Google Maps."
The ACLU is concerned that these powerful capabilities are being quietly used to bypass Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches.
"With certain exceptions that do not apply here, a search cannot occur without a warrant in which a judicial officer determines that there is probable cause to believe that the search will yield evidence of criminal activity," Fancher wrote. "A device that allows immediate, surreptitious intrusion into private data creates enormous risks that troopers will ignore these requirements to the detriment of the constitutional rights of persons whose cell phones are searched."
The national ACLU is currently suing the Department of Homeland Security for its policy of warrantless electronic searches of laptops and cell phones belonging to people entering the country who are not suspected of committing any crime.
1968..............
Think about what the NSA can do with a smart phone. They can locate you and use the device as a microphone to listen to you, even when it is not in use. Same with OnStar, you could be in your car having a conversation with someone in the passenger seat and big brother could be listening without your knowledge.
You are braver than I..............
1984..............
Don’t know about anyone else but that phrase scares the dickens out of me.
Why? Just say no to any search request, and that you'd like to be on your way as soon as possible.
They can take their new gizmo and shove it right up their fat wazoo. F*** the police.
Only because you are an unloyal American! How dare you refuse any request of our security forces!
If you really have nothing to hide you shouldn’t mind showing everything. It is for your own protection you know.
“To serve and protect” is no longer their mission and you don’t see it on cruisers anymore, at least I haven’t.
It should scare anyone who cherishes Liberty. Many who are attracted to government work have a genetic disposition to "rule" over others. These are humans who are not inherently civil. The iron fist gives them pleasure.
Any government official that states, “... to encourage citizens to cooperate if they have nothing to hide”" would fit right in any totalitarian dictatorship of the past or present.
These are indeed scary times. At all levels bureaucrats, who are paid with our hard earned dollars, spend their days writing rules and regulations that seek to further control us and out right harass us. They get pleasure from making our lives miserable. Government at all levels is becoming oppressive to a dangerous level.
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