UK cops are secretly harvesting all data from the phones and cloud accounts of suspects, victims and witnesses and insecurely storing it forever
Searching a mobile phone is not like searching a home or even a physical body search. A phone search is far more exhaustive, because of the vast amount of personal data that we now store on our devices. Modern mobile phones are not just phones, but mini computers that hold thousands of pictures, videos and apps and track our location, all of which can reveal so much about us, and potentially even our friends’ and family’s political, sexual and religious identities. Given the sensitive nature and breadth of data stored on mobile phones and other electronic devices, Privacy International believes that PACE is insufficient and outdated to justify its wholesale extraction. There must be a clear legal basis for such action, national and local guidance, and the police should be required to obtain a judicially-authorised warrant prior to using extractive tools. As noted in the landmark US ruling of Riley v California64, an element of pervasiveness characterises mobile phones with data that can go back years and shed light on nearly every aspect of a person’s life. The US Supreme Court ruled that whilst data on a mobile phone is not immune from search, a warrant is generally required before such a search, even in connection with an arrest. The warrant requirement was held to be “an important working part of our machinery of government”, not merely “an inconvenience to be somehow ‘weighed’ against the claims of police efficiency”.
Digital stop and search: how the UK police can secretly download everything from your mobile phone [Privacy International] (via Dan Hon) (Image: Cellebrite)