DON'T (TOWER) DUMP ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION: PROTEST SURVEILLANCE UNDER THE FIRST AND FOURTH AMENDMENTS.

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Title:	DON'T (TOWER) DUMP ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION: PROTEST SURVEILLANCE UNDER THE FIRST AND FOURTH AMENDMENTS.
Authors:	Pajar Blinder, Ana
Source:	Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology. Fall2021, Vol. 111 Issue 4, p961-994. 34p.
Subjects:	Protest movements, Surveillance detection, Cell phone systems, United States. Constitution. 4th Amendment, United States. Constitution. 1st Amendment, Bantam Books Inc. v. Sullivan
Abstract:	Government surveillance is ubiquitous in the United States and can range from the seemingly innocuous to intensely intrusive. Recently, the surveillance of protestors--such as those protesting against George Floyd's murder by a police officer--has received widespread attention in the media and in activist circles, but has yet to be successfully challenged in the courts. Tower dumps, the acquisition of location data of cell phones connected to specific cell towers, are controversial law enforcement tools that can be used to identify demonstrators. This Comment argues that the insufficiency of Fourth Amendment protections for protesters being surveilled by government actors--by tactics such as tower dumps--can be solved by conducting independent First Amendment analyses. A multi-factor balancing test can assist the courts as they consider the scope and pervasiveness of technology such as tower dumps against the potential chilling effects on First Amendment-protected activity, providing a framework to assess the constitutionality of surveillance technology used during mass protests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
	Copyright of Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology is the property of Northwestern University School of Law and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database:	Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection

Description
Abstract:	Government surveillance is ubiquitous in the United States and can range from the seemingly innocuous to intensely intrusive. Recently, the surveillance of protestors--such as those protesting against George Floyd's murder by a police officer--has received widespread attention in the media and in activist circles, but has yet to be successfully challenged in the courts. Tower dumps, the acquisition of location data of cell phones connected to specific cell towers, are controversial law enforcement tools that can be used to identify demonstrators. This Comment argues that the insufficiency of Fourth Amendment protections for protesters being surveilled by government actors--by tactics such as tower dumps--can be solved by conducting independent First Amendment analyses. A multi-factor balancing test can assist the courts as they consider the scope and pervasiveness of technology such as tower dumps against the potential chilling effects on First Amendment-protected activity, providing a framework to assess the constitutionality of surveillance technology used during mass protests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:	00914169