These two incidents should be of great interest and concern to those who have an ambivalent attitude towards the tracking that goes one with most of the network based technology that is in use today. In the cases of what we would perceive as a simple matter of mistaken identity, we often tend not to take into account the motivation(s) of those operating within the legal system and just figure it will be no problem clearing the issue up, home by lunch as it were.
Given the current state of modern society, the best approach is to limit use of these devices or at least their tracking capabilities.
"The email arrived on a Tuesday afternoon in January, startling Zachary McCoy as he prepared to leave for his job at a restaurant in Gainesville, Florida.
It was from Google’s legal investigations support team, writing to let him know that local police had demanded information related to his Google account. The company said it would release the data unless he went to court and tried to block it. He had just seven days.
“I was hit with a really deep fear,” McCoy, 30, recalled, even though he couldn’t think of anything he’d done wrong. He had an Android phone, which was linked to his Google account, and, like millions of other Americans, he used an assortment of Google products, including Gmail and YouTube. Now police seemingly wanted access to all of it."
Google tracked his bike ride past a burglarized home. That made him a suspect.
"Around 9 a.m. on December 13, 2018, four Avondale police officers walked into a Macy's warehouse in Goodyear and told 23-year-old Jorge Molina he needed to come with them. Molina was confused, but followed officers out of the building, where he was handcuffed, transported to Avondale city jail, and interrogated for several hours."
Avondale Man Sues After Google Data Leads to Wrongful Arrest for Murder
Tracking Phones, Google Is a Dragnet for the Police
Given the current state of modern society, the best approach is to limit use of these devices or at least their tracking capabilities.
"The email arrived on a Tuesday afternoon in January, startling Zachary McCoy as he prepared to leave for his job at a restaurant in Gainesville, Florida.
It was from Google’s legal investigations support team, writing to let him know that local police had demanded information related to his Google account. The company said it would release the data unless he went to court and tried to block it. He had just seven days.
“I was hit with a really deep fear,” McCoy, 30, recalled, even though he couldn’t think of anything he’d done wrong. He had an Android phone, which was linked to his Google account, and, like millions of other Americans, he used an assortment of Google products, including Gmail and YouTube. Now police seemingly wanted access to all of it."
Google tracked his bike ride past a burglarized home. That made him a suspect.
"Around 9 a.m. on December 13, 2018, four Avondale police officers walked into a Macy's warehouse in Goodyear and told 23-year-old Jorge Molina he needed to come with them. Molina was confused, but followed officers out of the building, where he was handcuffed, transported to Avondale city jail, and interrogated for several hours."
Avondale Man Sues After Google Data Leads to Wrongful Arrest for Murder
Tracking Phones, Google Is a Dragnet for the Police
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