Geofence Warrants: Google Data Requests Rise

Google Discloses Geofence Warrant Data

Historically, Google has not released data regarding geofence warrants received from U.S. law enforcement. Now, for the first time, the company has published figures offering insight into the frequency with which these warrants are issued, a practice often considered controversial.

Warrant Volume and Trends

The released data indicates that Google receives thousands of geofence warrants on a quarterly basis, beginning in 2018. At certain times, these warrants represented approximately one-quarter of all warrants Google processed within the U.S.

A breakdown of the numbers reveals that the majority of geofence warrants originate from local and state authorities. Federal law enforcement accounts for a relatively small percentage – only 4% – of all such warrants served upon the tech company.

Specific Numbers Over Time

Google reported receiving 982 geofence warrants in 2018. This number increased significantly to 8,396 in 2019, and further rose to 11,554 in 2020.

It’s important to note that these figures offer only a partial view of the total warrant volume. The data does not detail how often Google challenges or narrows the scope of overly broad requests.

Google’s Response

Alex Krasov, a Google spokesperson, stated the company is committed to protecting user privacy while also supporting law enforcement efforts. He explained that a specific process has been developed for handling these requests.

This process is designed to fulfill legal obligations while simultaneously minimizing the amount of data disclosed.

Civil Rights Groups’ Reaction

Albert Fox Cahn, executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (STOP), praised Google’s decision to release the data. STOP spearheaded lobbying efforts by numerous civil rights organizations to achieve this transparency.

Cahn expressed his belief that geofence warrants are unconstitutionally broad and invasive, and he anticipates their eventual prohibition.

Understanding Geofence Warrants

Geofence warrants, also referred to as “reverse-location” warrants, are used to identify individuals who were in a specific area at the time a crime occurred.

Law enforcement agencies request Google, which maintains extensive location data for advertising purposes, to provide information on users who were present within a defined geographic area – often a radius of several hundred feet – at a particular time.

Google’s Location Data Storage

Google has historically been reluctant to share these figures, partly because geofence warrants are largely unique to its services.

Law enforcement is aware that Google stores a substantial amount of location data in a database known as Sensorvault. This database was first brought to public attention by The New York Times in 2019.

Sensorvault Capabilities

Sensorvault contains detailed location data from potentially hundreds of millions of devices globally.

This data is collected from users’ phones when location services are enabled, as well as through Google services like Google Maps, Google Photos, and even Google Search.

Reports from the Associated Press in 2018 indicated that Google could continue collecting user locations even when location history is paused.

Constitutional Concerns

Critics argue that geofence warrants are unconstitutional because they require Google to provide data on all individuals present in a given area, regardless of their involvement in a crime.

Furthermore, these warrants have been known to implicate innocent individuals in investigations.

Real-World Examples

Earlier this year, TechCrunch reported that Minneapolis police utilized a geofence warrant to identify individuals linked to unrest following the death of George Floyd.

A protester who was filming the events had their location data requested by police simply for being near the area of the disturbances.

NBC News reported on a case in Gainesville, Florida, where a resident was able to prove his innocence in a burglary investigation using fitness tracking data from his phone, after Google provided his location information to police.

Legislative Efforts

While courts have not extensively ruled on the legality of geofence warrants, some states are considering legislation to restrict their use.

Last year, New York lawmakers proposed a bill to ban geofence warrants within the state, driven by concerns that they could be used to target protesters, as seen in Minneapolis.