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https://www.businessinsider.com/google-can-give-police-keyword-data-from-search-histories-2020-10
Documents from an arson attack linked to the R Kelly investigation show how Google hands 'keyword' search data to police
Isobel Asher Hamilton
5-6 minutes
A court document relating to an alleged associate of singer
R Kelly show that police investigators sent something
called a "keyword warrant" to Google. Police were looking
into an arson attack on a car outside the home of a witness
in the R Kelly case. Google provided IP addresses of
everyone who'd searched for the arson victim's address
within a certain timeframe, which allowed police to
pinpoint a suspect. The arson victim is a witness involved
in the ongoing sexual racketeering case against R Kelly.
The suspect, Michael Williams, is a family relation of R
Kelly's former publicist. The warrant shows how police are
increasingly able to issue broad warrants to tech
companies, rather than focusing on individuals.
A newly unsealed court document related to an alleged associate
of singer R Kelly shows how Google can hand over data about
what people search to the police.
The court filing was submitted in July but unsealed on
Wednesday. It details a police investigation into an arson
attack on a car outside of the home of a witness involved in
the ongoing sexual racketeering case against R Kelly.
The court document showed that investigators linked Michael
Williams - a family relation of R Kelly's former publicist - to
the arson by sending something called a "keyword warrant" to
Google. Specifically, police asked Google for any data on
"users who had searched the address of the residence close in
time to the arson."
Google sent a list of IP addresses that had searched for the
arson victim's address. Two IP addresses were linked to
Williams' phone number, which police then used to track the
phone's location. They were then able to determine the device
was near the victim's car at the time of the arson attack.
Per CNET, investigators then obtained a warrant for Williams'
personal search history, which showed he'd searched for the
terms: "where can i buy a .50 custom machine gun," "witness
intimidation," and "countries that don't have extradition with
the United States."
Although requests for broad data sets to tech giants from
police are not new, this case lays out exactly how tech
companies co-operate with officers.
"We require a warrant and push to narrow the scope of these
particular demands when overly broad, including by objecting in
court when appropriate," Richard Salgado, Google's director of
law enforcement and information security, told CNET.
"These data demands represent less than 1% of total warrants
and a small fraction of the overall legal demands for user data
that we currently receive," he added.
The original warrant sent to Google has not yet been unsealed,
but Williams' attorney Todd Spodek said he planned to challenge
its legality, per CNET. "Think of the ramifications in the
future if everyone who searched something in the privacy of
their own home was subject to interviews by federal agents,"
Spodek said.
Albert Fox Cahn, the executive director of the Surveillance
Technology Oversight Project, also told CNET he thought keyword
warrants could be in violation of the Fourth Amendment.
"When a court authorizes a data dump of every person who
searched for a specific term or address, it's likely
unconstitutional," said Cahn.
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