The Snitch in Your Pocket
Law enforcement is tracking Americans' cell phones in real time—without the benefit of a warrant.

By Michael Isikoff | NEWSWEEK
Published Feb 19, 2010
From the magazine issue dated Mar 1, 2010

Amid all the furor over the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program a few years ago, a mini-revolt was brewing over another type of federal snooping that was getting no public attention at all. Federal prosecutors were seeking what seemed to be unusually sensitive records: internal data from telecommunications companies that showed the locations of their customers' cell phones—sometimes in real time, sometimes after the fact. The prosecutors said they needed the records to trace the movements of suspected drug traffickers, human smugglers, even corrupt public officials. But many federal magistrates—whose job is to sign off on search warrants and handle other routine court duties—were spooked by the requests.

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