Supreme Court says police can't use your cellphone to track you without a court order

Chief Justice John Roberts, who wrote the court's opinion, said: " a phone goes wherever its owner goes, conveying to the wireless carrier not just dialed digits, but a detailed and comprehensive record of the person's movements." When used for calls or texts, a cell phone signals a nearby antenna tower to connect with the telephone network. As the user travels, the call is handed off to successive towers, and the cell phone companies keep records of the phone numbers rounded through each tower to sort out such thing as roaming charges. Police generally must have permission from the judge before they can get cellphone records to plot the movements of individual customers. [ 1 image, 1 link, 1 quotation, 112 words]