www.lesswrong.com/posts/rNpGFodLTFvhqLmK6/intelligence-dissolves-privacy
1 correction found
but require permission to look at it (a ‘warrant’).
That is too broad: in the U.S., many third-party-held records can be obtained with a subpoena or court order rather than a warrant, and some sensitive data can also be purchased from brokers.
Full reasoning
U.S. law does not generally require a warrant whenever law enforcement wants records held by third parties.
- A Congressional Research Service legal overview of the Stored Communications Act says government entities can compel disclosure using "a court-issued warrant, a court order, or an administrative subpoena" depending on the category of information.
- A House Judiciary Committee report explains the distinction even more explicitly for electronic-service providers: subscriber information such as names, addresses, and phone numbers may be obtained "by issuing a subpoena"; more sensitive non-content records require a different court order; only contents of communications require a probable-cause warrant.
- That same House report also notes a modern loophole: providers can pass data to third parties, and the government can then purchase it from those third parties without the otherwise required process.
So the post's parenthetical equating legal access with "a warrant" is factually inaccurate as a description of U.S. practice. Warrants are required for some categories of data, but not for many others.
3 sources
- Overview of Governmental Action Under the Stored Communications Act (SCA) | Congress.gov | Library of Congress
To obtain information held by entities covered by § 2703 of the SCA ... law enforcement must obtain a search warrant, a court order, or a subpoena.
- Report of the House Committee on the Judiciary on Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act
The government may obtain subscriber information, like names, addresses, and phone numbers, from an RCS or ECS by issuing a subpoena ... When the government seeks to obtain the content of electronic communications, it must obtain a probable cause warrant.
- Report of the House Committee on the Judiciary on Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act
This has led to a loophole whereby RCS and ECS providers can transfer data to private third parties and the government is able to purchase the data from those third parties without obtaining the otherwise required court order, subpoena, or warrant.