SAN FRANCISCO – Yasir Afifi, a 20-year-old community college student., took his car for an oil change 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 apartment and demanded the return of their property. A GPS tracking device now at the center of a raging legal debate over privacy rights.
"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. A three-judge panel from his court ruled that search warrants weren't necessary for GPS Tracking.
Law enforcement advocates for the devices say GPS can eliminate time-consuming stakeouts with unmarked police cars.
I chose to write about this article because it demonstrates how highly sneeky the government can be to the extent where it's not considered a crime or a privacy disturbance. It also shows how the government can get away with pretty much anything.
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