InfoAnda - Discovery of GPS tracker becomes privacy issue

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Cyprus tourism revenue dips 17 percent in April | 28 May 2010
Japan protests to China over boats near islands | 25 October 2010
Swedes scour mountains for missing Norwegian plane | | 16 March 2012

Apple looking into reports of exploding iPhones | 19 August 2009

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Discovery of GPS tracker becomes privacy issue

Yahoo! My Yahoo! Mail More Yahoo! Services Account Options New User? Sign Up Sign In Help Yahoo! Search web search Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Weekend Edition Africa Europe Latin America Middle East North America Discovery of GPS tracker becomes privacy issue By PAUL ELIAS,Associated Press Writer - Sunday, October 17 Send IM Story Print SAN FRANCISCO – Yasir Afifi, a 20-year-old computer salesman and community college student, took his car in for an oil change earlier this month and his mechanic spotted an odd wire hanging from the undercarriage. The wire was attached to a strange magnetic device that puzzled Afifi and the mechanic. They freed it from the car and posted images of it online, asking for help in identifying it. Two days later, FBI agents arrived at Afifi's Santa Clara apartment and demanded the return of their property _ a global positioning system tracking device now at the center of a raging legal debate over privacy rights. One federal judge wrote that the widespread use of the device was straight out of George Orwell's novel, "1984". "By holding that this kind of surveillance doesn't impair an individual's reasonable expectation of privacy, the panel hands the government the power to track the movements of every one of us, every day of our lives," wrote Alex Kozinski, the chief judge of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a blistering dissent in which a three-judge panel from his court ruled that search warrants weren't necessary for GPS tracking. But other federal and state courts have come to the opposite conclusion. Law enforcement advocates for the devices say GPS can eliminate time-consuming stakeouts and old-fashioned "tails" with unmarked police cars. The technology had a starring role in the HBO cops-and-robbers series "The Wire" and police use it to track every type of suspect _ from terrorist to thieves stealing copper from air conditioners. That investigators don't need a warrant to use GPS tracking devices in California troubles privacy advocates, technophiles, criminal defense attorneys and others. The federal appeals court based in Washington D.C. said in August that investigators must obtain a warrant for GPS in tossing out the conviction and life sentence of Antoine Jones, a nightclub owner convicted of operating a cocaine distribution ring. That court concluded that the accumulation of four-weeks worth of data collected from a GPS on Jones' Jeep amounted to a government "search" that required a search warrant. Judge Douglas Ginsburg said watching Jones' Jeep for an entire month rather than trailing him on one trip made all the difference between surveilling a suspect on public property and a search needing court approval. "First, unlike one's movements during a single journey, the whole of one's movements over the course of a month is not actually exposed to the public because the likelihood anyone will observe all those movements is effectively nil," Ginsburg wrote. The state high courts of New York, Washington and Oregon have ruled similarly. The Obama administration last month asked the D.C. federal appeals court to change its ruling, calling the decision "vague and unworkable" and arguing that investigators will lose access to a tool they now use "with great frequency." After the D.C. appeals court decision, the 9th Circuit refused to revisit its opposite ruling. The panel had concluded that agents could have gathered the same information by following Juan Pineda-Moreno, who was convicted of marijuana distribution after a GPS device alerted agents he was leaving a suspected "grow site." "The only information the agents obtained from the tracking devices was a log of the locations where Pineda-Moreno's car traveled, information the agents could have obtained by following the car," Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain wrote for the three-judge panel. Two other federal appeals court have ruled similarly. In his dissent, Chief Judge Kozinski noted that GPS technology is far different from tailing a suspect on a public road, which requires the active participation of investigators. "The devices create a permanent electronic record that can be compared, contrasted and coordinated to deduce all manner of private information about individuals," Kozinksi wrote. Legal scholars predict the U.S. Supreme Court will ultimately resolve the issue since so many courts disagree. George Washington University law professor Orin Kerr said the issue boils down to public vs. private. As long as the GPS devices are attached to vehicles on public roads, Kerr believes the U.S. Supreme Court will decide no warrant is needed. To decide otherwise, he said, would ignore a long line of previous 4th Amendment decisions allowing for warrantless searches as long as they're conducted on public property. "The historic line is that public surveillance is not covered by the 4th Amendment," Kerr said. All of which makes Afifi's lawyer pessimistic that he has much of a chance to file a successful lawsuit challenging the FBI's actions. Afifi is represented by Zahra Billoo of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the country's largest Islamic civil rights group. Afifi declined comment after spending last week fielding myriad media inquiries after wired.com posted the story of his routine oil change and it went viral on the Internet. Still, Billoo hopes the discovered GPS tracking device will help publicize in dramatic fashion the issue of racial profiling the lawyer says Arab-Americans routinely encounter. She said Afifi was targeted because of his extensive ties to the Middle East, which include supporting two brothers who live in Egypt and making frequent overseas trips. His father was a well-known Islamic-American community leader who died last year in Egypt. "Yasir hasn't done anything to warrant that kind of surveillance," Billoo said. "This was a blatant example of profiling." Recommend Send IM Story Print Related Articles Basque separatist urges permanent halt to violence AFP - 25 minutes ago UK-World Summary Reuters - 38 minutes ago Yemeni planes bomb al Qaeda in south after ambush Reuters - 38 minutes ago Rescued Chilean miners return to mine for ceremony Reuters - 39 minutes ago Obama on nationwide blitz with vote two weeks off AFP - 46 minutes ago News Search Top Stories Cuts will haul UK back from edge: finance minister Blonde or brunette? Celluloid rivals fight it out China battles to rescue trapped miners German police evict protestors in station siege Iranian chocolate thief 'to have hand chopped off' More Top Stories » ADVERTISEMENT Most Popular Most Viewed Most Recommended World's longest tunnel breaks down Swiss Alpine barrier NESV seal acrimonious Liverpool takeover Iranian chocolate thief 'to have hand chopped off' Time, like all good things, may come to an end: study World's longest cable car line opens to Armenia More Most Viewed » Too much TV psychologically harms kids: study British lottery winner gets record 129 mln euros Workers swarm Europe's streets in anti-cuts protests 'A billion people' go hungry in 2010: report Global marine life census charts vast world beneath the seas More Most Recommended » Elsewhere on Yahoo! Financial news on Yahoo! Finance Stars and latest movies Best travel destinations More on Yahoo! News Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Weekend Edition Subscribe to our news feeds Top StoriesMy Yahoo!RSS » More news feeds | What are news feeds? Also on Yahoo! Answers Groups Mail Messenger Mobile Travel Finance Movies Sports Games » All Yahoo! Services Site Highlights Singapore Full Coverage Most Popular Entertainment Photos Yahoo! News Network Copyright © 2010 Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte Ltd. (Co. Reg. No. 199700735D). All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - Community - Intellectual Property Rights Policy - Help

Other News on Sunday, 17 October 2010
Blasts hit southern Afghan city, at least one dead |
EU lacks vision on Turkey membership: Gul
Herat 'may be handed to Afghans by 2011'
Iranian chocolate thief 'to have hand chopped off'
Karzai: Afghan peace council is hope for future
World's longest cable car line opens to Armenia
Rescuers hunt for trapped Ecuadorean miners |
Seven Iraqis arrested in September army base attack |
N.Korea 'ready' to resume nuclear disarmament talks
Japan rallies against China over disputed islands
Indian Muslims to appeal disputed holy site ruling
Alicia Keys gives birth to baby boy
China media mostly quiet as mine blast traps 16
Germany to help Japan obtain vital rare earths
China calls US green-tech trade charges 'groundless'
New date sought for Paris peace summit
Britons trust ministers on cuts, expect unfairness
Six killed in gun attack in Mexican border city |
Seven Iraqis arrested in September army base attack
Philippines braces as Megi becomes super typhoon |
Blonde or brunette? Celluloid rivals fight it out
Basque separatist says ETA should declare 'permanent truce'
China urges anti-Japan protesters to stay within law |
Attacks hit Kandahar, killing 2 Afghan civilians
Some of Chile's 33 to return to mine for ceremony |
German police evict protestors in station siege
China battles to rescue trapped miners
German bid at multi-cultural society has failed: Merkel
Voting starts in Pakistan's Karachi after violence |
Bomb hits Kandahar city police HQ; 1 Afghan dead
New date sought for Paris peace summit: Israel |
Israeli air strike kills militant in Gaza Strip |
Tens of thousands rally against Italian government
Jolie to get back licence to film in Bosnia: local producer
Philippines braces as Megi becomes super typhoon
China urges anti-Japan protesters to stay within law
Vietnamese sailors located after China release
Gates: No sensitive info in Wikileaks Afghan papers |
10 die in Indian temple stampede
Stoner scorches to fourth straight Aussie MotoGP win
At least 17 people killed in Pakistan's Karachi
Russian Arctic's 'nuclear dump' gets a facelift
Insurance fraudsters target North Korean refugees
Hope fades for 11 trapped miners in China
Blonde or brunette? Celluloid rivals fight it out in Paris
Hobbit row 'threatens' NZealand film industry
Australian police probe Gitmo detainee book deal
Festival stampede at north Indian temple kills 10
US-ENTERTAINMENT Summary
"Leave It to Beaver" mom Barbara Billingsley dies
Crocheted coral exhibit carries environmental warning
Jolie to get back licence to film in Bosnia: local producer
Leave It to Beaver mom Barbara Billingsley dies |
US-TECH Summary
Gates: No sensitive info in Wikileaks Afghan papers
'Fallout: New Vegas' takes post-apocalypse play to Sin City
Afghan reprieve for some private security firms
Merkel says German multi-cultural society 'has failed'
Ahmadinejad says world has no option but talks
American held in Iran for 30 months says to sue group |
Sarkozy, French unions fight to finish on pensions |
Israeli air strike kills 2 militants in Gaza Strip
Off-Duty Baltimore Police Officer Killed After Argument Over Parking Space
Afghan 2010 troop death toll reaches 593
Yemeni planes bomb al Qaeda in south after ambush |
NATO service member killed in southern Afghanistan
Pope makes saint of nun who exposed sexual abuse |
American freed in Iran says he is innocent
Thai red shirts rally to demand leaders be freed |
Iran warns domestic media over opposition news |
Nine missing Vietnamese fishermen found adrift |
Somali pirates seize S.Korean fishing boat
Thai PM faces court as ban threat hangs over party
Minimum and maximum temperatures in Celsius
Super typhoon only hours away from Philippines
Discovery of GPS tracker becomes privacy issue
Taiwan bourse 'says 61 foreign firms want to list'
APEC ministers warn food security at 'crossroads'
India launches diamond bourse
OPEC caught in dollar crossfire
India's 'King Coal' sale to raise billions
SE Asia should 'de-dollarise', but slowly: experts
Wall of money leaves Asia swimming against tide
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph		BlogMeter 1.01