Supreme Court rules cops need warrant to obtain location data generated by your phone

The Supreme Court, by a 5-4 vote, ruled that police need a search warrant to obtain location data generated by a cellphone over a period of time. The ruling says that collecting this data from wireless providers without a warrant violates the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guards against unreasonable search and seizure. Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts joined with the four liberals on the court to write the prevailing decision.

The ruling is limited to cell-site location data. Whether cops need a warrant to see the real time location of a criminal ...