Speaking of searches…
There is much debate about whether or not the government should have the authority to conduct searches of personal computing devices. Obviously, this is a continuation of an ongoing struggle that is centuries old. However, I think there are 2 important elements that make this version of the debate unique.
First, in the case of technology devices, designing the software in such a way to allow law enforcement to access it, either through weak encryption or a back door, inherently sacrifices the user’s security. This is not a feature that has entered the privacy debate before. Providing law enforcement a way in also means there’s a way in for bad guys.
Second, it is very difficult to provide limited access. In the case of physical locations, judges can issue warrants for specific spaces on a property or within a house. The warrant can also include certain items or types of items. In the case of a hard drive, how do you do this? Is a warrant issued for the entire hard drive? Can law enforcement only open certain folders on the hard drive? If so, how are they supposed to know which folders they’d like to look in when requesting the warrant? This presents a new dilemma – and one that privacy advocates use to argue against allowing law enforcement access.
However, the second point seems much simpler to me than the first. A judge can simply restrict the collection of and admission as evidence to certain types of files. For example, if law enforcement thinks there are communication messages on a phone that would incriminate someone, a warrant could allow allow the collection of text messages and/or emails. This would prevent law enforcement from simply scouring the hard drive for any type of file that might be incriminating.
While some situations may require it, universally allowing law enforcement to access one’s entire hard drive with a warrant in all cases is too much. While law enforcement needs tools and access to do their jobs effectively, we still need to adhere to basic privacy principles, which have undergirded the American way of life, when adapting to new contexts.