by Kevin W. Bliss

Geofence location and reverse search warrants are the new trends in law enforcement agencies’ criminal investigations. But, their use concerns civil rights advocates because of the overbroad scope of their results and the means by which the data is obtained.

Geofence search warrants are issued to Google and other agencies carrying user data collected through Global Positioning Satellite location and Automated License Plate Reader technology for a certain area and time of a crime being investigated. Reverse search warrants work in a similar fashion, with warrants targeting internet search engines to obtain user data attached to specific key word searches.

It forms a type of dragnet search that provides police with a list of suspects to investigate instead of information in a particular suspect’s investigation. Civil rights activists argue it is a fishing expedition, allowing police to obtain user information from data-rich tech companies in violation of citizens’ rights to be free from warrantless search and seizures. People could be subject to having their private information sifted through without even being aware of it.

Defense attorney Caleb Kenyon blames tech companies for indexing this type of user data to make the information more searchable for advertising and cataloging purposes. “As long as the data exists, all it takes is a creative law enforcement officer to say, ‘Hey, we can get a warrant or we can send a subpoena for this particular subset of data that’s already being harvested,’” he said. “That’s all it takes for the next type of search warrant to come about.”

Google stated it received 11,554 geofence location warrants alone for 2020, a 38 percent increase from the total amount in 2019 and over 10 times the amount of the 982 total submitted in 2018. Reverse search warrants, more prolific than geofence warrants, are true digital warrants, having no ties or connections to the physical world whatsoever. And, companies such as Hawk Analytics, facilitate law enforcement’s submissions of both types by creating user-friendly interfaces for police to complete forms and offer assistance navigating what information may be available to law enforcement and how to obtain it.

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