How Reverse Search Warrants Allow Google Searches to be Handed to Police

Reverse search warrants require a provider–almost always Google–to search through its entire database of location and keyword search data to identify all users or devices that have been in a geographic area during a certain time period and any person who has entered a certain word or phrase into a search engine. These warrants pose serious threats to Fourth Amendment rights by allowing the government to indiscriminately parse through databases without probable cause or naming a particular suspect. They turn millions, if not billions of innocent people into suspects. Panelists Richard Salgado (Stanford Law School) and Jennifer Granick (ACLU) will discuss how geofence and keyword warrants work, their impact on Fourth Amendment rights, and recent cases considering their constitutionality. 

Wednesday, May 29 from 1-2 PM. Lunch provided for RSVPs.