Tech Companies Urge Supreme Court to Protect Cellphone Privacy
Over a dozen technology and telecommunications companies signed a petition to the Supreme Court to make it harder for government entities to access individuals' sensitive cellphone data, Reuters reported.
Among the signees was Apple Inc (AAPL) - Get Report , Facebook (FB) - Get Report , Twitter (TWTR) - Get Report , Snap Inc (SNAP) - Get Report , Alphabet's (GOOGL) - Get Report Google and the nation's largest wireless operator, Verizon Communications Inc (VZ) - Get Report . The industry titans signed the 44-page brief filed in court on Monday night.
"That users rely on technology companies to process their data for limited purposes does not mean that they expect their intimate data to be monitored by the government without a warrant," the document said. It was filed in relation to a high-profile case to be argued in October in order to determine whether police can get data that reveals a phone user's location without a warrant.
Verizon's participation was important to the legitimacy of the document, the ACLU said, because it receives thousands of requests for cellphone location records from police every year, which are routinely granted.
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