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Could You Be Arrested For What You Searched On Google Last Week?
Keyword Warrants Are Here With a Host of Troubling Questions
An unsealed warrant came into the public eye this month with troubling implications for the future of free speech, criminal justice, and big tech. In a now public warrant, Google was petitioned by the government to turn over all of the information of users that searched for certain phrases during set periods of time. The warrant was a part of a child trafficking investigation in Wisconsin. The federal investigators were looking for anyone who searched for certain names and addresses of the alleged victim and her family.
The parameters surrounding this warrant were fairly narrow in scope but the warrant has raised questions with legal experts and citizens alike. This warrant was secret until just recently and it makes internet users wonder how many of these warrants are circulating and how widespread they are becoming.
If Google is being asked for sensitive user information in connection to criminal cases, is Facebook? How about Microsoft? How broad can these warrants be?
Privacy concerns
The warrants in question are known as keyword warrants in which certain phrases or information are targeted. The government determines…
