The Michigan State Police is reportedly searching drivers' cell phones, accessing contacts, pictures, texts, and even geo-location data, raising questions about privacy abuses in the digital age.
The devices can even access some information that's password protected, according to reports.
The MSP says it will hand over information about its cell phone searches to the ACLU for an patently obstructionist $500,000 processing fee.
"Cell phones contain information that many people consider to be private, to be beyond the reach of law enforcement and other government actors," said Mark Fancher, ACLU attorney. "There is great potential for abuse here by a police officer or state trooper who may not be monitored or supervised on the street."
Detailed information about the user's friends, movements, activities, and political and religious views could be easily gleaned from trove of messages, photos and contacts in many peoples' smartphones.
But regulations on how and when law enforcement officials can collect such mobile data are arguably still fuzzy. Technology has far outpaced mobile and Internet privacy legislation. The Electronics Communication Privacy Act is 25 years old and doesn't cover Twitter, Facebook or iPhones.
Taking advantage of the confusion, some authorities simply assume privacy protections are minimal, as in Michigan. A recent California court case seems to give police the right to use data from an arrestee's cell phone against him in court without a warrant. The Department of Homeland Security also reportedly searches phones and laptops at airports with murky legal justification.
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