Google to Limit Location Tracking Data Used in Capitol Riot Arrests
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Google location data was used to identify hundreds of Jan. 6 Capitol rioters, but Google will soon stop storing that kind of detailed location history.
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Law enforcement has increasingly used "geofence warrants" to access precise location data from Google and identify people who were at crime scenes.
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The legality and privacy implications of these warrants are still being debated, with some seeing it as overreach and others as justified for serious crimes.
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Google says geofence warrants have "evolved into this routine strategy" for police even when not useful, so it will now only store location data on devices for 3 months.
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Legal battles continue over whether geofence warrants violate the Fourth Amendment, with differing court opinions - the impact of Google's data storage change on these cases is uncertain.