Alphabet Inc’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) search data in criminal investigations is being challenged by civil liberties advocates on privacy grounds.
In a well-publicized 2016 rape case in Pennsylvania, police obtained information from Google through a search warrant. Google’s response, revealing the IP address of a user who had searched for the victim’s address, ultimately led to the arrest and conviction of a corrections officer.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, along with its Pennsylvania chapter, have raised objections to the use of keyword search warrants, calling them overly broad and a threat to privacy rights.
According to Michael Price, Litigation Director at NACDL Fourth Amendment Center, “Keyword search warrants are digital dragnets giving the government permission to rummage through our most private information, and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court should find them unconstitutional,” as reported by Bloomberg.
Notably, Google and the defendant’s lawyer offered no immediate comment to Bloomberg’s requests for input on the matter.
The controversy surrounding keyword search warrants has intensified in the wake of the Supreme Court’s abortion-related ruling. Privacy advocates fear that these warrants, along with geofence warrants, could lead to the prosecution of individuals in states where abortion is illegal.
In connection to this, the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to allow evidence obtained from a keyword search warrant in a murder case has sparked concerns about the widespread use of Google’s search data.
Nevertheless, the court specified that its verdict was specific to the case, offering some hope for the situation in Pennsylvania, as stated by EFF Surveillance Litigation Director Andrew Crocker, according to Bloomberg.
Following concerns raised by a Bloomberg Businessweek investigation, Google ceased responding to geofence warrants in December, intensifying the urgency for courts to assess the constitutionality of keyword search warrants. This is especially pertinent as the police seek new tools for investigation, as highlighted by Crocker.
It is important to recognize that this content was partially generated with the assistance of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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