Supreme Court supports Apple in search warrant to obtain data from its devices

A new decision by the U.S. Supreme Court was issued this morning. In general terms, it states that the government will need a warrant to collect information from wireless service providers, such as location data.

The New York Times reported that the ruling was approved by a 5-4 vote. This vote will impact a wide variety of personal information held by third parties, including bank and financial records, texts and emails, internet search history, and more.

However, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. outlined the limitations on his decision: "A court order is required in the rare case that the suspect has a legitimate interest in the privacy of the records held by a third party."The four most liberal judges on the court joined in his opinion.

Supreme Court upholds order to protect people's privacy

Today's ruling stems from a 2010 armed robbery case in Detroit, in which prosecutors used data from wireless service providers to secure a conviction. In this case, attorneys had access to approximately 13,000 location data points.

The sticking point has been whether accessing and using data like this violates the Fourth Amendment. Apple, along with Google and Facebook, had previously filed a brief with the Supreme Court defending privacy.

"No constitutional doctrine should presume," the report stated, "that consumers should assume the risk of government surveillance without a court order. The use of technologies that are beneficial is becoming increasingly integrated into modern life."

While the order will not be necessary to collect data in all circumstances, today's decision is a step forward in protecting people's privacy.