US Supreme Court bolsters data privacy - Financial Times

June 24, 2018
US Supreme Court bolsters data privacy
Uber driver distracted, Intel’s next headache, Amazon Fire TV Cube

Data privacy advocates are welcoming the US Supreme Court's ruling that the police need a warrant to seize an individual’s historical cell phone location information.

In a 5-4 decision, the court said location data collected when devices connect to cell phone towers cannot be seized by the government without a warrant.

Chief Justice John Roberts, delivering the majority opinion, said the decision reflected the fact that modern technologies created new ways for the police to monitor citizens.

“Technology has enhanced the government’s capacity to encroach upon areas normally guarded from inquisitive eyes,” he wrote, noting later that cell phone location records allowed the government to achieve “near perfect surveillance, as if it had attached an ankle monitor to the phone’s user.”

Andrew Crocker, staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said the ruling was a “major victory” that recognised the power of cell phone tracking for government surveillance.

“Equally as important, they rejected the government’s tired argument that sensitive data held by third parties is automatically devoid of constitutional protection,” he added.

Friday's ruling is the court's latest attempt to grapple with the privacy issues created by new technologies. The case stems from the prosecution of Timothy Carpenter, who was jailed for over 100 years for a string of robberies in Michigan and Ohio. Cell phone location data were used to place his phone near four of the robberies. Kadhim Shubber has the full story.

Uber safety driver was "distracted"
The Uber driver behind the wheel of an autonomous car that hit and killed a pedestrian in Arizona could have avoided the collision if she had not been “distracted”, according to police investigating the incident. The driver may have been watching videos on Hulu.

Intel's next headache
Following the ouster of the US chipmaker's CEO, the company's next leader will have to address the decline of Intel's manufacturing lead. “Intel was on a roll for years — in hindsight, they took too much risk,” says one chip analyst.

AI opinion writers
IBM's demonstration of an artificial intelligence system taking on humans in a debating competition should be welcome news to editorial writers, says the FT's editorial writer. "If a computer can hold up its end in an argument, then it can take a view on the great issues of the day in 600 words of clean prose. Journalists with a grasp of economics and the history of technology will greet the robot editorialists as liberators."

Forwarded
Xiaomi more money
The Chinese smartphone maker has given its founder and chief executive a $1.5bn stock bonus, in one of the largest corporate paydays in history. It comes as Xiaomi is going public in an offering that could value it at as much as $70bn. (Wall Street Journal)

Facebook meets state AGs
Sheryl Sandberg, the social network's chief operating officer, is answering questions from state attorneys-general about the company's Cambridge Analytica scandal — behind closed doors. (Bloomberg)

Elon Musk's media war
The Tesla founder's recent rants against critical news coverage have prompted questions about his stability, but people close to him say that's just the way he's always been. (BuzzFeed News)

Tech tools you can use — Amazon Fire TV Cube

Amazon's new $120 streaming TV box blends its Fire TV stick, which allows you to stream movies and television shows, with the Alexa-enabled voice controls of its Echo smart speaker.

"Alexa turns on your TV, and it feels like magic," says CNET. The device has some mis-steps — its remote doesn't control volume — and it can't control the DVR function on your cable box, Blu-ray players or other streaming boxes, but it's a big step toward commanding your entire entertainment system with just your voice.