Archive for the ‘Fourth Amendment’ Category

Most do not trust the medical-related info widely reported on the news (POLL) – Sharyl Attkisson

More than half of respondents in the latest unscientific poll at SharylAttkisson.com say they do not trust the medical-related information widely reported on the news.

Of more than 1,500 respondents, 56% say they do not trust the information at all. Another 32% say they only "barely" trust the information.

One percent (1%) say they trust it "a lot" and 11% say they trust it "so-so."

Read the full results below. Meantime, be sure and vote in our latest poll at SharylAttkisson.com on the home page. Look for the black box in the right sidebar or scroll way down on the mobile site!

1% A lot

11% So-so

32% Barely

56% Not at all

1% Don't know/don't care

Fight improper government surveillance. Support Attkisson v. DOJ and FBI over the government computer intrusions of Attkisson's work while she was a CBS News investigative correspondent. Visit the Attkisson Fourth Amendment Litigation Fund. Click here.

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Most do not trust the medical-related info widely reported on the news (POLL) - Sharyl Attkisson

No Visits, No Parole: Ross Ulbricht Is More Alone Than Ever During COVID-19 – CoinDesk

The coronavirus infection spreading across the United States prison system is throwing Ross Ulbrichts confinement into sharp relief.

Found guilty of seven charges including money laundering, conspiracy to traffic narcotics and computer hacking, the controversial founder of the Silk Road is currently serving a double life sentence plus 40 years, without the possibility of parole.

As the pandemic worsens conditions for the nations large prison population, Ross spends 22 hours a day behind bars in Tucson, Ariz., where hes currently being held. Outside visits are stopped so Rosss mother, Lyn, and other loved ones, who work tirelessly for his release, are unable to act as Ross lifeline to the outside world. And Ross stands a good chance of being infected, with rates in his part of the system running four times the New York average.

Because of the nature of his crime, Ross is not allowed access to a computer or the internet, not even to check his email. So he spends his time writing, reading and meditating, his mother said, and calling home.

Even though Ross is a grown man, I'm still a mom and can't help reminding him to drink lots of water, wash his hands and take vitamin C when he calls," Lyn Ulbricht said. "He assures me he's doing all that and I don't need to worry, but it's hard under these circumstances. Prisons are probably the most at-risk places for contracting the virus."

The Silk Road holds a storied position in Bitcoins history. Named after the ancient trade routes that connected East to West, the online emporium became the currencys first proven link to the world of internet commerce (it even introduced some well-known crypto folk to bitcoin). Anonymized shoppers could buy anything, as long as it didn't harm a third party, from fake IDs to opioids, or any narcotic, as well as spyware, art and books. For Ulbricht, the innovation wasnt what was sold, but how: voluntary exchange.

What were doing isnt about scoring drugs or sticking it to the man. Its about standing up for our rights as human beings and refusing to submit when weve done no wrong, the Silk Road founder, then operating under the pseudonym Dread Pirate Roberts, said in an interview with Forbes. (It should be said: Lyn and Ross both maintain this quote is not his. Nor has Forbes has not attributed this quote to Ross.)

Despite his alleged crimes, Ulbricht has become a folk hero in libertarian and crypto circles. Ross is an amazing entrepreneur who helped make the world a better place, Roger Ver, founder of Bitcoin.com, said in a direct message. Ver is among thousands of supporters who have fomented a movement seeking to liberate Ulbricht (with the hashtag #freeross).

And the coronavirus crisis could accelerate this process. It certainly doesnt seem like it can hurt his cause, Ver said.

Close, unsanitary quarters are hotbeds for viral infection. Worse, throughout the pandemic prisoners have had limited access to protective or hygienic products and, sometimes, lack basic medical care. These conditions have activists, politicians and even Attorney General William Barr calling for the temporary release of at-risk populations. Others are pushing harder for the amnesty of all non-violent offenders.

The call for criminal justice reform amid a global pandemic echoes the issues the Free Ross campaign has been championing for years.

Begging the system that put him in prison to now take him out seems like an uphill battle

Theres been a lot more attention brought to the subject [of prison reform], said Lyn Ulbricht. There are many people serving horrific sentences in our country now for nonviolent crimes. It shouldn't be like that. We're the biggest incarcerator in the world. That's a national disgrace.

Lyn Ulbricht is the organizing force behind the loosely coordinated campaign seeking her sons release. In 2013, when the 29-year-old Ulbricht was arrested, she created the FreeRoss.org website to raise awareness and funds for his bail, which was ultimately rebuked.

In 2015, ahead of and during the 11-week federal trial held at the Southern District of New York, Lyn spoke frequently at conferences, to media and online arguing Ross case had wide implications for the future of internet commerce, First and Fourth amendment rights and criminal justice.

Then, in 2017, after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld Ross conviction and sentence essentially eliminating any chance of legal recourse she began seeking clemency through political means. This effort has culminated in a petition directed at President Trump, asking him issue Ulbricht a commutation. The most recent petition has received over 280,00 signatures.

Many who agitate on Ross behalf see his case as representative of the totality of crimes committed through mass incarceration and the prison industrial complex.

We should support anyone who is being persecuted for victimless crimes, Roger Ver said. The police, prosecutors and judges are the ones who are the criminal aggressors in this case, and the world should speak out against them just like we now speak out against the runaway slave catchers of the past.

While Ver had donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Freedom Fund He made it possible for us to go to trial, Lyn said he remains pessimistic about the political process. Begging the system that put him in prison to now take him out seems like an uphill battle, he said. This is something Lyn Ulbricht reluctantly admits.

Despite her efforts to reach the Trump administration, his family and even Kim Kardashian who successfully lobbied the president to release a 63-year-old woman serving a life sentence for a nonviolent drug conviction she has had little success.

Its difficult to coordinate efforts. Ive tried to reach out but its not easy to get to them, she said. While she thinks Trump has shown an inclination to reform the justice system with the First Step Act, its a matter of convincing President Trump this is something that is worthy of his attention and mercy.

That doesnt mean she lacks hope. Trump makes instinctual decisions, she said, adding, Anyone who looks at the sentence can see it's wrong. Ulbricht was a first-time offender, convicted on non-violent charges in a trial that shows some signs of malpractice. The charges listed in Ross original indictment wouldve, at minimum, landed him a 30-year prison sentence.

A more lenient sentence would be in line with what busted merchants on the Silk Road have been handed. Not to mention the former U.S. Secret Service agent who skimmed bitcoin from the site while participating in federal investigation to uncover its founder. Instead, Ulbricht received a punishment Lyn argues is unconstitutional.

The Eighth Amendment says no cruel or unusual punishment and this is very unusual for a first time nonviolent offender, and it's certainly cruel, she said. While the conviction has opened her mind to the possible injustices of the law, its something all her hopes are tied to.

[Trump] can sign a piece of paper and Ross would walk out the door, she said.

Criminal justice reform

Seven years ago, Ulbricht found himself behind bars at New Yorks Metropolitan Detention Center while awaiting trial. Today, this municipal prison system has an infection rate of more than 9 percent, according to the Legal Aid Society. This is compared to the 2 percent infection rate on the citys streets.

Prisoners across the country report they are unable to practice social distancing or even properly wash their hands. Found wanting before the outbreak, prison medical care is reportedly incapable of managing a prison outbreak. In a memo to the Bureau of Prisons, Attorney General Barr confirmed the virus is materially affecting operations, and called for the release of vulnerable and at-risk inmates to home confinement.

Still, there is no consistent national approach to manage the virus in prisons, nor federal guidelines to determine which inmates may be eligible for temporary release. And that guidance may not come soon, with Trump decrying the proactive release of elderly and infirm prisoners he called very serious criminals during a White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing earlier this month.

'Even though Ross is a grown man, I'm still a mom and can't help reminding him to drink lots of water, wash his hands and take vitamin C when he calls.'

Its in this landscape that reformist policies begin to make sense. A 2016 report showed nearly 40 percent of people in state and federal prisons were incarcerated without provably presenting a danger to their communities. That means these sentences are strictly punitive, not correctional, Lyn Ulbricht said.

During Ross bail hearing, prosecutors said he operated the most sophisticated and extensive criminal marketplace on the internet today. And while the prosecution accused him of hiring hitmen, Ulbricht is, technically, a non-violent offender.A number of eminent scholars, lawyers and celebrities have weighed in, calling the sentence "a shocking miscarriage of justice," to use Noam Chomsky's words.

Still young at 36, healthy and without any underlying conditions, its unlikely Ulbricht will be released to home confinement during the pandemic. Instead, he, like the majority of the 2.3 million people incarcerated in federal, state and local prisons, jails and other correctional facilities across the country, will spend 22 hours a day in his cage with his cellmate as a precautionary measure, Lyn said.

Lyn has moved three times since 2013 to be closer to Ross in Arizona so she can make weekly visits. These visits are also on hold for the foreseeable future, and its unclear when these restrictions will be lifted. The federal Bureau of Prisons has not responded to a request for comment.

He can be under house arrest with an ankle brace on, Lyn said. Hes not a dangerous person.

Update(April 30, 22:50 UTC):This story has been updated to emphasize that Forbes has not identified Ross Ulbricht as the pseudonymous Dread Pirate Roberts interviewed in 2013.

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No Visits, No Parole: Ross Ulbricht Is More Alone Than Ever During COVID-19 - CoinDesk

Your Freedoms Don’t Have to Be Muzzled Just Because You’re Wearing a Mask – Mintpress News

CHARLOTTESVILLE(Rutherford) Despite all appearances to the contrary, martial law has not been declared in America. We still have rights.

Technically, at least.

The government may act as if its police state powers suppress individual liberties during this COVID-19 pandemic, but for all intents and purposes, the Constitutionespecially the battered, besieged Bill of Rightsstill stands in theory, if not in practice.

Indeed, while federal and state governments have adopted specific restrictive measures in an effort to lockdown the nation and decelerate the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the current public health situation has not resulted in the suspension of fundamental constitutional rights such as freedom of speech and the right of assembly.

Mind you, thats not to say that the government has not tried its best to weaponize this crisis as it has weaponized so many other crises in order to expand its powers and silence its critics.

All over the country, government officials are using COVID-19 restrictions to muzzle protesters.

It doesnt matter what the protest is about (church assemblies, the right to work, the timing for re-opening the country, discontent over police brutality, etc.): this is activity the First Amendment protects vociferously with only one qualificationthat it be peaceful.

Yet even peaceful protesters mindful of the need to adhere to social distancing guidelines because of this COVID-19 are being muzzled, arrested and fined.

For example, a Maryland family was reportedly threatened with up to a year in jail and a $5000 fine if they dared to publicly protest the injustice of their sons execution by a SWAT team.

If anyone had a legitimate reason to get out in the streets and protest, its the Lemp family, whose 21-year-old son Duncan was gunned down in his bedroom during an early morning, no-knock SWAT team raid on his familys home.

Imagine it.

It was 4:30 a.m. on March 12, 2020, in the midst of a COVID-19 pandemic that has most of the country under a partial lockdown and sheltering at home, when this masked SWAT teamdeployed to execute a high risk search warrant for unauthorized firearmsstormed the suburban house where 21-year-old Duncan, a software engineer and Second Amendment advocate, lived with his parents and 19-year-old brother.

The entire household, including Lemp and his girlfriend, was reportedly asleep when theSWAT team directed flash-bang grenades and gunfire through Lemps bedroom window.

Lemp waskilledand his girlfriend injured.

No one in the house that morning, including Lemp, had a criminal record.

No one in the house that morning, including Lemp, was considered an imminent threat to law enforcement or the public, at least not according to the search warrant.

Now what was so urgent that militarized police felt compelled to employ battlefield tactics in the pre-dawn hours of a day when most people are asleep in bed, not to mention stuck at home as part of a nationwide lockdown?

According to police, they were tipped off that Lemp was in possession of firearms.

So instead of approaching the house by the front door at a reasonable hour in order to investigate this complaintwhich is what the Fourth Amendment requirespolice instead strapped on their guns, loaded up their flash bang grenades and acted like battle-crazed warriors.

This is the blowback from all that military weaponry flowing to domestic police departments.

This is what happens when you use SWAT teams to carry out routine search warrants.

This is what happens when you adoptred flag gun laws, which Maryland did in 2018, painting anyone who might be in possession of a gunlegal or otherwiseas a threat that must be neutralized.

These red flag gun laws allow the police toremove guns from people merelysuspectedof being threats.

While in theory it appears perfectly reasonable to want to stop dangerous people before they act, where the problem arises is when you put the power to determine who is apotentialdanger in the hands of government agencies, the courts and the police.

Remember, this is the same government that uses the words anti-government, extremist and terroristinterchangeably.

This is the same government whose agents are spinning a sticky spider-web ofthreat assessments, behavioral sensing warnings, flagged words, and suspicious activity reports using automated eyes and ears, social media,behavior sensing software, and citizen spies to identifypotentialthreats.

This is the same government that keeps re-upping the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which allows the military to arrest and detain American citizens with no access to friends, family or the courts if the government believes them to be a threat.

This is the same government that has a growing listshared with fusion centers and law enforcement agenciesof ideologies, behaviors, affiliations and other characteristics that could flag someone as suspicious and result in their being labeledpotentialenemies of the state.

Let that sink in a moment.

If you believe in and exercise your rights under the Constitution (namely, your right to speak freely, worship freely, associate with like-minded individuals who share your political views, criticize the government, own a weapon, demand a warrant before being questioned or searched, or any other activity viewed as potentially anti-government, racist, bigoted, anarchic or sovereign), you are most likelyat the top of the governments terrorism watch list.

Moreover, as aNew York Timeseditorial warns, you may be an anti-government extremist (a.k.a.domestic terrorist) in the eyes of the police if you are afraid that thegovernment is plotting to confiscate your firearms, if you believe theeconomy is about to collapseand thegovernment will soon declare martial law, or if you display an unusual number ofpolitical and/or ideological bumper stickerson your car.

Needless to say, if you happen to be passionate about the Constitution and a vocal critic of government corruption, youve already been flagged in a government database somewhere.

Likely, Lemp was, too.

Now Lemp is dead and his family is devastated, outraged and desperate to make sense of what appears to be an insensible act of violence resulting in an inexcusable loss of life.

As usual in these kinds of shootings,government officials have not been forthcoming with details about the shooting: police have refused to meet with family members, the contents of the warrant supporting the raid have not been revealed, and bodycam footage of the raid has not been disclosed.

So in order to voice their objections to police violence and demand answers about the shooting, Lemps family and friends planned to conduct an outdoor public demonstrationadhering to social distancing guidelinesonly to bethreatened with arrest, a year in jail and a $5000 finefor violating Marylands stay at home orders.

Yet heres the thing: we dont have to be muzzled and remain silent about government corruption, violence and misconduct just because were wearing masks and social distancing.

Thats not the point of this whole COVID-19 exercise, or is it?

While there is a moral responsibility to not endanger other lives with our actions, that does not mean relinquishing all of our freedoms.

Be responsible in how you exercise your freedoms, but dont allow yourselves to be muzzled or your individual freedoms to be undermined.

Understandably, no one wants to talk about individual freedoms when tens of thousands of people the world over are dying, and yet we must.

The decisions we make right nowabout freedom, commerce, free will, how we care for the least of these in our communities, what it means to provide individuals and businesses with a safety net, how far we allow the government to go in protecting us against this virus, etc.will haunt us for a long time to come.

At times like these, when emotions are heightened, fear dominates, common sense is in short supply, liberty takes a backseat to public safety, and democratic societies approach the tipping point towards mob rule, there is a tendency to cast those who exercise their individual freedoms (to freely speak, associate, assemble, protest, pursue a living, engage in commerce, etc.) as foolishly reckless, criminally selfish, or outright villains.

Sometimes that is true, but not always.

As I make clear in my bookBattlefield America: The War on the American People, there is always a balancing test between individual freedoms and the communal good.

What we must figure out is how to strike a balance that allows us to protect those who need protection without leaving us chained and in bondage to the police state.

We must find ways to mitigate against this contagion needlessly claiming any more lives and crippling any more communities, but lets not lose our heads:blindlyfollowing the path of least resistanceacquiescingwithout questionto whatever the government dictatescan only lead to more misery, suffering and the erection of a totalitarian regime in which there is no balance.

Feature photo | A nurse stands in counter-protest during a demonstration against stay-at-home orders at the State House, April 25, 2020, in Providence, R.I., during the coronavirus outbreak. Michael Dwyer | AP

John W. Whiteheadis founder and president ofThe Rutherford Institute. His new bookBattlefield America: The War on the American People (SelectBooks, 2015) is available online at http://www.amazon.com. Whitehead can be contacted atjohnw@rutherford.org.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect MintPress News editorial policy.

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Your Freedoms Don't Have to Be Muzzled Just Because You're Wearing a Mask - Mintpress News

A right to digital self-defense will prevent abuse of COVID-19 surveillance apps | TheHill – The Hill

Apple and Google recently announcedthey will jointlylaunch digital contact tracing tools to combat COVID-19. Their Bluetooth technology will allow Android and iOS phones to communicate and track when individuals pass within six feet of someone who tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Apple and Google are not alone. Around the world, countries including the UK, China, Taiwan, and South Korea have implemented comparable programs.

While these steps appear desirable, they raise serious risks for autonomy, privacy, and data security. The information collected could be used for commercial purposes, hacked by cybercriminals, or used to discriminate against individuals with COVID-19 or other health conditions. Moreover, it is difficult to establish whether the apps are beneficial and surveillance methods implemented now may persist long after the pandemic subsides.

To address these concerns, Apple and Google promised there will be strong protections around user privacy and emphasized that transparency and consent are of utmost importance. However, tech companies have repeatedly failed to protect user privacy and security; the time to rely on privacy legislation and industry self-regulation has passed. Instead of those top down approaches, which privilege legislators, lobbyists, and tech companies over individuals, we argue for a bottom-up approach.

State and federal lawmakers should create a right to digital self-defense ensuring that Americans can freely use anonymity, privacy, and cybersecurity tools to shield themselves against widespread and relentless data collection by private and public actors. Some examples of these tools are the TOR browser, virtual private networks (VPNs), personal servers such as the FreedomBox, and low-tech solutions such as clothing that disrupts facial recognition.

There are many more available tools of digital self-defense, and not all of them will be relevant to COVID-19 apps; nevertheless, recognition of a right to digital self-defense may serve as a catalyst to the development of new tools, covering different platforms, operating systems and scenarios.

While some of these tools are widely available, their use often comes at a cost. Specifically, people who adopt them may be subjected to increased government scrutiny. On the public side for example, the FBI usedspywareto track Tor users activity. Whether such surveillance constitutes an illegal search under the Fourth Amendment remains anunresolvedlegal question. In this context, people may wish to protect their privacy and cybersecurity even if they have committed no crimes.

On the private side, platforms such as Netflix and Hulu often refuse access to people who use these tools of digital self-defense. Some platforms, including Google, penalize users by requiring them to complete time-consuming CAPTCHAs thattrain the companys algorithmsto identify objects such as street signs and fire hydrants. These mechanisms frustrate users and encourage them to sacrifice privacy for easier access to services.

The right to digital self-defense may find support in the Bill of Rights, which was designed to protect states and their citizens from government tyranny. In the information age, we are witnessing the emergence of a new oppressive force digital tyranny, where tech companies threaten our privacy and security through widespread surveillance, profiling, and manipulation. They often work with federal agencies through public-private partnerships, such as the collaboration between Amazon Ring and up to400 law enforcement authorities.

Public-private partnerships including those directed at COVID-19 tracking can excuse federal agencies from respecting individual rights and freedoms because tech platforms conduct the surveillance, and most constitutional protections provided by the Bill of Rights do not extend to these private actors. Once the data is obtained, they pass it to their government partners. But the Bill of Rights is of limited effectiveness in the information age if it doesnt also extend to technology companies.

Some may argue that a right to digital self-defense is unnecessary because people can always choose not to opt-in to a contact tracing program. However, this criticism is rooted in outdated notions of consent. Tech companies have a history of using deceptive methods to influence peoples choices. They use deceptivechoice architectureto nudge people to consent. Besides, some surveillance programs are not optional; Chinas mandated contract tracing app Health Code controls where citizens may travel, and U.S. programs could shift in that direction.

Others might contend that a more desirable approach is to demand that tech companies take privacy and security more seriously. However, platforms have no obligation to implement safeguards beyond what the law requires, and U.S. privacy laws are inadequate and overly susceptible toinfluence by industry lobbyists.

A federal right to digital self-defense can serve as a foundation on which state lawmakers can build. For example, the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) sets a national floor for health privacy, and states can pass their own laws that provide protection above and beyond what HIPAA mandates.

Alternatively, states could establish the right to digital self-defense on their own by statute and incorporate it into their constitutions. In states where citizens can pass their own laws through ballot initiates, such as California and Alaska, the right could be implemented by the people, thus bypassing state legislatures, and stifling lobbyist efforts to water down legislation.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a public health emergency, but widespread surveillance carried out by private actors is not the solution. Given Big Techs track record, the social cost of widespread surveillance likely outweighs potential benefits, especially if tracking persists beyond the pandemic.

Lawmakers should codify a right to digital self-defense and encourage Americans to use anonymity, privacy, and cybersecurity tools to ensure that their privacy and security are not threatened by digital tyranny.

Ido Kilovaty is an assistant professor of law at The University of Tulsa College of Law, visiting faculty fellow at Yale Law Schools Center for Global Legal Challenges and an affiliated fellow at Yale Law Schools Information Society Project. He was a 2028-2019 Cybersecurity Policy Fellow at New America.

Mason Marks is assistant professor at Gonzaga University School of Law and an affiliated fellow at Yale Law Schools Information Society Project. In addition to a law degree from Vanderbilt University, he also holds an M.D. from Tufts University School of Medicine.

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A right to digital self-defense will prevent abuse of COVID-19 surveillance apps | TheHill - The Hill

Mass Surveillance Is Spreading along with COVID-19 – Foundation for Economic Education

Societal consequences resulting from the novel coronavirus pandemic have been partially mitigated by the growing technological abilities of our society. Remote work environments, technology-driven logistics and supply chain management, online stores, and direct-to-consumer grocery delivery are all features of our society. With the technological advances of the past two decades, a large portion of the workforce is able to continue operating even while many business locations remain physically closed. We owe a lot of this success to information technology and, particularly, to our abilities to collect, store, and share data.

Increased computing power, complex collection and sharing of data, and powerful algorithms are helping to sustain our economy, as much as possible. This combination of factors along with consumer buy-in has produced in many respects a potential surveillance apparatus. Unlike the science fiction version of a surveillance state, these surveillance tools are largely fed through consumer buy-in and understanding.

Consumer or user knowledge of the potential side-effects may be limited, but all services require costs. This cost comes in the form of trade-offs, whereby consumers understand that a free online service like Facebook may be providing a social media platform in return for the right to use the data inputs to Facebooks advantage.

During this pandemic, much of life has been turned on its head. The majority of the American population is under shelter-in-place or lockdown orders. Restrictions vary by state, municipality, and county. These orders have forced most of American life to adapt through technology and wireless high-speed Internet. What most Americans do not yet understand is the complex collection and sharing of data that takes place mostly unnoticed. Some may encounter this when they search for a product on one electronic device and discover advertisements for that product appear on a totally separate device.

Behind the scenes, companies are not only selling products or services; they are exchanging data points to further target specific consumers. Harvard Business School Professor Shoshana Zuboff has coined the term surveillance capitalism to describe this phenomenon. Surveillance capitalism is the unilateral claiming of private human experience as free raw material for translation into behavioral data. These data are then packaged as prediction products and sold into behavioral futures markets.

Why does this surveillance apparatus matter during this pandemic?

Generally speaking, Americans are skeptical of invasions of privacy, whether it is by the government or business. During times of crisis, individuals are more prone to turn a blind eye to infringements of civil liberties. Unfortunately, America has instituted several disastrous measures during times of crisis in recent decades. We should ensure that similarly devastating measures are not implemented during this pandemic.

On April 10, Apple and Google announced a joint effort to enable the use of Bluetooth technology to help governments and health agencies reduce the spread of the virus, with user privacy and security central to the design. The novel coronavirus is transmitted through close proximity. As Googles Press Release noted, public health organizations have identified contact tracing as a valuable tool to help contain its spread; contact tracing is not itself a novel concept.

Countries throughout the world have implemented similar measures. For example, the Israeli government recently passed a law allowing their security agency to conduct contact tracing. Contact tracing is the process of identifying persons who have come into contact with an infected person, as well as the collection of further information about the nature of the contact. It is a much more tailored version of quarantining than lockdowns. This collaborative effort between Apple and Google allows individuals to opt-in through downloading an official application. Unlike other countries, the United States is relying on a private sector-led effort to conduct contact tracing.

Government surveillance and data collection have long been a point of contention in the United States, albeit in varying forms. The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution ensures a right to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.

The Supreme Court, in Carpenter v. United States, held that the governments acquisition of cell-site records was a Fourth Amendment search, thus the government needed a warrant to conduct the search. Carpenter did not address the question undergirding the Third-Party Doctrine, which covers an individuals expectation of privacy in information voluntarily turned over to third parties. It remains unclear how the government may differentiate between cell-site location information (CSLI) collected by smartphones and other like information.

Given the onslaught of local and state orders prohibiting certain activities and, in many cases, threatening individuals with arrest, it is prudent to ask whether or not such behavior may result in a scenario whereby the government has a need for surveillance. Carpenter answered one question and simultaneously led to more questions than before. At Protocol, Charles Levinson discusses a product called Locate X which allows investigators to draw a digital fence around an address or area, pinpoint mobile devices that were within that area, and see where else those devices have traveled, going back months. According to the article, Locate Xs terms of use forbid the tool as evidence in legal proceedings.

CNN recently published an article highlighting the use of a different location data tracking tool. Weve all encountered this story about spring breakers in Florida who ignored warnings to practice social distancing and then fell ill with the novel coronavirus. X-Mode, the company behind the tool, provides location tracking services and, in turn, provides the data it collects to advertisers only after it is anonymized. Why is this problematic? This lesser-known tool is generating considerable interest from the government in using location data from Americans cell phones to try to track and possibly curtail the spread of the coronavirus.

Assumg mass collection and sharing of data points, even those data points for which we may be unaware of their existence.

Much of the concern about government surveillance would subside if government were to take a less intrusive role in each of our lives. Unfortunately, this pandemic has resulted in more calls for government action, such as increased policing, police department lists of addresses of confirmed virus cases, curfews, mandatory closure of non-essential businesses, and government payments to all. For example, Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan in writing for the majority of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals writes, "Jacobson instructs thatallconstitutional rights may be reasonably restricted to combat a public health emergency.

Given the overwhelming technological tools in the governments possession, it is imperative that the private sector takes the initiative so the government does not feel inclined to do so. Google and Apple have begun to address contact tracing here in the United States. Should their initiative be unsuccessful, government may feel the need to coerce businesses and information providers into providing data to their surveillance agencies.

As Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in Carpenter, It is true that the Cyber Age has vast potential both to expand and restrict individual freedoms in dimensions not contemplated in earlier times. Even as our technological capacity has expanded to provide opportunities and capabilities the world has never seen, we must remain vigilant. We must ensure that our tools and resources are used to the advantage of individuals and not to power-hungry government officials or businesses that cower to the state.

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Mass Surveillance Is Spreading along with COVID-19 - Foundation for Economic Education