[ NNSquad ] Lawmakers Propose Warrant Requirement for GPS Data + my comments

[Lauren Weinstein <lauren@vortex.com>]

Lawmakers Propose Warrant Requirement for GPS Data + my comments
http://j.mp/iTpzYq  (This message in Google Buzz)

 - - -

http://j.mp/lkdO75  (Wired)

    "Two lawmakers announced legislation Wednesday that for the first time
     clearly would mandate the authorities obtain a court warrant to
     acquire geolocational information of a suspect's movements, a position
     clearly at odds with the Obama administration."

 - - -

The article notes that this legislation's protection of real-time GPS
data is in conflict with Senate legislation that would (admirably)
require warrants for access to cloud-based email -- but only protect
retrospective (not real-time) GPS data from warrantless access 
( http://j.mp/l7hWHh [Wired]) [This is also in conflict with the Obama
administration, which wishes -- like its predecessor administrations --
to continue warrantless access to all of this email and GPS data.]

Retrospective vs. real-time is always an interesting distinction.  
I am wont in this case to quote from Isaac Asimov's classic short story,
"The Dead Past":

   "But when does the past really begin?  ...  When did it begin? A
    year ago? Five minutes ago? One second ago?  Isn't it obvious that
    the past begins an instant ago? The dead past is just another name
    for the living present."

And so it goes.

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren@vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org
Founder:
 - Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org
 - Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance: http://www.gctip.org
 - PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurenweinstein 
Google Buzz: http://j.mp/laurenbuzz 
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com