The Court ruled in US v Jones that the Federal Bureau use of unwarranted vehicle-based GPS tracking units was illegal on the grounds that the practice violated the 4th Amendment — specifically that the act represented a search and constituted trespassing. The FBI complied and nixed its 3000 currently active GPS tracking devices but that’s where the problem lies.
Turns out the FBI can’t locate the devices unless they’re active. The Agency so determined to retrieve its toys that it has petitioned the court to briefly turn the devices back on for the sole purpose of finding and retrieving the hardware. I bet they wish they’d just bothered with those warrants now.
Either way, if you happen to have something that looks like this fall off your car, kindly contact your nearest FBI field office. [WSJ via Techdirt ]
Top art: AP
Let them go without.
That's a small price for what they've burdened their own citizens with...
I just love the ridiculous design of the things. They're about as inconspicuous as a Jersey Shore member at a Vatican mass.