Above: A woman uses her iPhone while waiting in a New York City subway station.
Extending the Fourth Amendment, the Supreme Court ruled today that police need a warrant to access the content on your smartphone.
The unanimous ruling follows two controversial phone search cases which landed in the high court back in April. The court’s decision applies to both simplistic handsets and smartphones.
According to Chief Justice John Roberts, “modern cell phones are now such a pervasive and insistent part of daily life that the proverbial visitor from Mars might conclude they were an important feature of human anatomy.”
Chief Justice Roberts clarified that the decision today “will have an impact on the ability of law enforcement to combat crime.” But, Roberts insists, “privacy comes at a cost.”
The court did, however, leave room for “exigent” — or unusual — “circumstances,” a move which weakens the otherwise clear-cut ruling.
In other news, the Supreme Court also ruled against TV streaming service Aereo, after a long fight with broadcasters.
More to follow.
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