By Ellen Nakashima, The Washington Post, November 23, 2007.
"Federal officials are routinely asking courts to order cellphone companies to furnish real-time tracking data so they can pinpoint the whereabouts of drug traffickers, fugitives and other criminal suspects, according to judges and industry lawyers.
"In some cases, judges have granted the requests without requiring the government to demonstrate that there is probable cause to believe that a crime is taking place or that the inquiry will yield evidence of a crime. Privacy advocates fear such a practice may expose average Americans to a new level of government scrutiny of their daily lives."
Comment: This is in the United States with a strong tradition of freedom from government surveillance and rule of law, a free press to report on abuses, and strong civil society watchdog organizations. Think how authoritarian governments are likely to misuse mobile phone technology for coercive purposes! JAD
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