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Coalition Amicus Brief Urges New York Court of Appeals to Reject “All-Content” Search Warrant

EPIC · · US Federal · Privacy Law

EPIC joined the ACLU, NYCLU, Legal Aid Society, and other civil liberties and criminal defense groups in filing an amicus brief with the New York Court of Appeals in New York v. Morris. The brief argues against broad 'all-content' search warrants that would allow law enforcement to access everything on a person's cell phone during a criminal investigation.

Why this matters: Your phone is not a filing cabinet the government gets to rifle through because it found a reason to look at one folder. All-content warrants hand investigators everything — texts, photos, emails, health data, location history, private conversations — far beyond whatever a case is actually about. That is a fishing expedition with a warrant attached. New York's top court can draw a real limit here. If it does not, a single arrest becomes a reason to expose a person's entire private life.

Who should care: General readers · Privacy officers · Policy

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Who should care: General readers · Privacy officers · Policy