CrimSavvy: Your Digital Privacy is Under Siege: The Fourth Amendment in the Age of Surveillance

Description:
This short video reviews the federal response to encroachment on the 4th Amendment in the digital age. It does not cover cases that have not made it to the Supreme Court, of which there are varied cases. [Forgive some of the pronunciation by the voiceover of the cases covered, i.e., Kyllo]. It is important to remember that this video does not cover the intricate amount of detail and nuance belonging to this topic, and there more questions not covered, e.g., yes, some government entities buy data to get around any warrant requirements. Some individual states have tried to enact protections, e.g., California, Texas, etc.

Summary:
• The Fourth Amendment is being stress-tested by digital surveillance.
• Key rulings like Carpenter and Riley offer some protection, but meta-profiling, data purchases, and AI surveillance remain largely unregulated.
• Expect major court cases and legislation in the next few years that may redefine what "search" and "privacy" mean in the digital era. There are many organizations and non-profits involved in the fight to preserve the 4th Amendment.

I always encourage more study!

Legal Cases:
Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347 (1967).
Established the 'reasonable expectation of privacy' test.
Kyllo v. United States, 533 U.S. 27 (2001).
Thermal imaging of a home constitutes a Fourth Amendment search.
Carpenter v. United States, 585 U.S. ___ (2018).
Warrant required for historical cell-site location data.
Riley v. California, 573 U.S. 373 (2014).
Warrant required to search the digital contents of a cell phone.
Smith v. Maryland, 442 U.S. 735 (1979).
No warrant required for pen register data; basis for third-party doctrine.

Not Supreme Court Cases:
United States v. Warshak, 631 F.3d 266 (6th Cir. 2010).
Email content requires a warrant under the Fourth Amendment.
United States v. Forrester, 512 F.3d 500 (9th Cir. 2007).
Allowed surveillance of email to/from addresses and IPs without a warrant.

Other Sources (not in order):
https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/privacy-rights-do-not-come-with-a-price-tag
https://techpolicy.sanford.duke.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/07/Sherman-Justin_WrittenTestimony_MA_Legislature.pdf
https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/location-data-broker-x-mode-and-the-ftc-s-unprecedented-settlement
https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/using-sensitive-locations-lists-to-address-data-broker-harm
https://www.gadgetreview.com/ftc-bans-data-brokers-from-selling-sensitive-location-data