Goverment has the right to place GPS device on your car and follow you- Is it fair?
Some courts have ruled that GPD tracking by the goverment is completely legal
Did you know the government can put a GPS tracking device on your car and follow your every move without telling you and without a warrant?
Talk about the ultimate case of Big Brother watching, or should we say following you. While GPS ( Global Positioning System) is nothing new, ( the technology is over 40 years old) how it's being used is pretty advanced considering it's humble beginnings as a military tracking system. GPS is considered a dual use technology, meaning it has significant military and civilian uses.
GPS's accurate timing facilitates everyday activities such as banking, mobile phone operations, and even the control of power grids. Farmers, surveyors, geologists and countless others perform their work more efficiently, safely, economically, and accurately. Cell phone companies offer it to not only map our directions but also to keep track of your kids and family, and the vet offers you a chip to find pet if it's ever lost or stolen.
If that's not enough, many social media sites offer GPS widgets that will let all your friends know exactly where you are at any given moment, and several companies online will sell you a GPS tracking kit to follow that cheating spouse and give you up-to-the-minute information on their whereabouts.
Now the Goverment is using the technology to follow people's every move. Is that a violation of our constitutional 4th amendment right for privacy? Or is it simply using smarter technology for whatever purpose deemed neccesary?
The AutoBlog explains how the controversial case that started all the commotion. An Oregonian named Juan Pineda-Moreno was convicted of growing marijuana after police tracked his car to a suspected growing site. Pineda-Moreno appealed, citing the fact that on two occasions DEA agents placed tracking devices on his car while it was in his driveway – which he considered private, not public, property – and therefore breached his Fourth Amendment rights.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, ruling that Pineda-Moreno didn't have any signage or barriers around his property to clearly indicate that it was private property, and since "an individual going up to the house to deliver the newspaper or to visit someone would have to go through the driveway to get to the house," why couldn't the DEA? Further, the court ruled that the underside of his car isn't private because "[t]he undercarriage is part of the car's exterior, and as such, is not afforded a reasonable expectation of privacy."
The case is now probably headed to the supreme court. Worse than that is the fact that judges have basically said if you can't afford a privacy fence around your home you have no right to your privacy being respected. Thus leaving the government free to track and watch you every move, and yes, big brother is watching.
What do you think? Should the government be able to freely track who ever they want? Is it OK as long as it is only used on "suspected criminals"? Do you feel this is a "social class issue" being that privacy is only for those with money enough to afford and demand it? What if the public began doing the same thing, attaching GPS devices to the cars of anyone they wanted, their boss, an ex lover, a police officer, a celebrity? Would it still be fair and constitutionally supported or would it be considered stalking?
Tell us what you think and share your comments below.
Source : Time.com
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