Appeals Court: Abandoned Phones Don’t Equal Abandoned Privacy Rights

September 18, 2025September 18, 2025Andrew CrockerLeave a Comment

[ad_1] This posted was drafted by EFF legal intern Alexandra Halbeck The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which covers California and most of the Western U.S., just delivered good news for digital privacy: abandoning a phone doesn’t abandon your Fourth Amendment rights in the phone’s contents. In United States v. Hunt, the court […]

EFF Tells Virginia Court That Constitutional Privacy Protections Forbid Cops from Finding out Everyone Who Searched for a Keyword

August 8, 2025August 8, 2025Andrew CrockerLeave a Comment

[ad_1] This post was co-authored by EFF legal intern Noam Shemtov. We are in a constant dialogue with Internet search engines, ranging from the mundane to the confessional. We ask search engines everything: What movies are playing (and which are worth seeing)? Where’s the nearest clinic (and how do I get there)? Who’s running in […]

Appeals Court Sidesteps The Big Questions on Geofence Warrants

May 8, 2025May 8, 2025Andrew CrockerLeave a Comment

[ad_1] Another federal appeals court has ruled on controversial geofence warrants—sort of. Last week, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit sitting en banc issued a single sentence opinion affirming the lower court opinion in United States v. Chatrie. The practical outcome of this sentence is clear: the evidence collected from a geofence […]

Federal Appeals Court Finds Geofence Warrants Are “Categorically” Unconstitutional

August 13, 2024August 13, 2024Andrew CrockerLeave a Comment

[ad_1] In a major decision on Friday, the federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that geofence warrants are “categorically prohibited by the Fourth Amendment.” Closely following arguments EFF has made in a number of cases, the court found that geofence warrants constitute the sort of “general, exploratory rummaging” that the drafters of the Fourth […]

Author: Andrew Crocker