Supreme Court puts limits on police access to cell phone data

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Jun 25, 2014

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Supreme Court puts limits on police access to cell phone data

In a major ruling on privacy and cell phones, the Supreme Court ruled today that police need to get a warrant before searching the cell phones of those arrested.

Caption:A visitor speaks on his phone in Barcelona on February 25, 2014, on the second day of the 2013 Mobile World Congress. The 2014 Mobile World Congress, the world's biggest mobile fair, is held from February 24 to 27 in Barcelona. AFP PHOTO / JOSEP LAGO (Photo credit should read JOSEP LAGO/AFP/Getty Images)

In a major ruling on privacy and cell phones, the Supreme Court ruled today that police need to get a warrant before searching the cell phones of those arrested.

In a major ruling on privacy and cell phones, the Supreme Court ruled today that police need to get a warrant before searching the cell phones of those arrested. The decision was unanimous — rare for an often-divided court. It cites the vast amount of information that we store on mobile devices and what constitutes privacy in the digital age.

To help us break down what this means, we're joined by Laurie Levenson, professor of law at Loyola Law School.