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A federal judge ordered the FBI to pause searching devices seized from Washington Post reporter Ellen Nakashima Natanson while the court considers claims that reviewing the contents would violate First Amendment protections for journalists and attorney-client privilege. The Post said the government refused to voluntarily refrain from reviewing the seized items pending judicial resolution, and argued the devices contain extensive journalistic work product, including tens of thousands of emails, interview recordings, story drafts, and encrypted Signal communications with more than 1,100 sources.
Separately, the US Supreme Court agreed to hear a case challenging whether geofence warrants—orders compelling companies (often Google) to provide location data for devices present in a defined area during a specific time—are constitutional under the Fourth Amendment. The case arises from the prosecution of Okello Chatrie, where police used a geofence request to obtain anonymized location data near a robbery scene and then narrowed it to subscriber information; the petition highlights rapid growth in geofence requests and argues the practice is increasingly common despite inconsistent lower-court rulings and limited judicial guidance for balancing investigative needs against user privacy.
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The U.S. Supreme Court said it will hear Okello Chatrie's case challenging whether geofence warrants are constitutional under the Fourth Amendment. The case will address law enforcement demands for location data covering devices in a defined place and time.
In 2019, police investigating an armed robbery near Richmond, Virginia, sought a geofence warrant for location data from devices present near the crime scene. Google provided anonymized location data and investigators later identified Okello Chatrie among three subscribers returned by the process.
Before the Supreme Court acted, the U.S. Solicitor General argued the justices should decline review, saying Google's policy changes reduced the case's future significance. The filing also suggested the dispute still could matter for other companies and older cases.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit later upheld the constitutionality of the geofence warrant in a divided ruling. The split decision highlighted disagreement in lower courts over the legality of geofence warrants.
A federal judge reviewing the Chatrie case indicated the geofence search likely violated Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches. The court nevertheless allowed the evidence to be used.
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US policymakers and courts are intensifying scrutiny of how law enforcement and federal agencies obtain and use location data, amid concerns that current practices can sweep in sensitive information about large numbers of people without adequate safeguards. More than 70 House and Senate Democrats urged DHS Inspector General **Joseph Cuffari** to investigate **ICE** for allegedly resuming **warrantless purchases of Americans’ location data**, including how the data is used, whether employee access is audited, and whether data governance controls exist. Lawmakers cited prior DHS OIG findings that **CBP, the Secret Service, and ICE** violated federal law by purchasing/using location data without warrants and lacked required privacy safeguards; the OIG previously recommended ICE halt use of commercial telemetry data until privacy assessments and compliance controls were implemented. In parallel, the US Supreme Court is poised to address the constitutionality of **geofence (“reverse search”) warrants**, with **Google** filing an amicus brief arguing the warrants are unconstitutional because they can identify all devices in a defined area/time window, capturing many non-suspects’ location data. Google noted it began storing Location History **on-device** in July 2025, limiting its ability to respond to geofence warrants going forward, but said the Court’s ruling could still affect other providers and historical requests; Google also reported objecting to **3,000+** geofence warrants in recent months. The case discussed involves **Okello Chatrie**, identified after police sought Google data placing devices near a 2019 bank robbery, and raises questions about the **third-party doctrine** and whether cloud-stored location data retains constitutional protections.
Jun 30, 2026
Civil liberties groups and media advocates are escalating claims that US government entities are pressuring or leveraging authority in ways that chill speech and shape online information flows. The **EFF** is pursuing FOIA litigation to uncover communications between federal officials and technology platforms, arguing that government requests around content moderation—particularly involving criticism of **ICE**—may have crossed from persuasion into unconstitutional coercion; advocates say platforms could resist by demanding court orders and that prior litigation has prompted the government to withdraw certain unmasking requests. Separately, a **GAO** report obtained by *Nextgov/FCW* found the **FBI** used its “assessment” authority from 2018–2024 to collect information on more than 1,000 individuals and organizations—including journalists, religious groups, and elected officials—using tools that can include physical surveillance, subpoenas for electronic communications information, and confidential sources without the evidentiary predicate required for a criminal investigation. In a related speech-and-platform governance dispute, the **FTC chair** sent a letter to Apple alleging *Apple News* suppresses conservative outlets and suggesting potential consumer-protection violations, drawing criticism that the move resembles government pressure over editorial decisions despite the letter citing no specific terms-of-service provisions allegedly breached.
Jun 29, 2026
The **Department of Homeland Security** and the **FBI** are expanding use of commercially available surveillance and data-tracking capabilities, prompting renewed scrutiny over privacy, civil liberties, and oversight. DHS is reportedly preparing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on surveillance technology in 2026, including a **$1 billion** blanket purchase agreement with *Palantir* and additional investments in AI-enabled monitoring, mobile tracking, and tools from vendors such as *Cellebrite* and *Paragon Solutions*. Advocacy groups and lawmakers have warned that these programs broaden the government’s ability to scan faces, track cell phone activity, and monitor both immigrants and U.S. citizens while governance mechanisms fail to keep pace. The **FBI** separately confirmed it has resumed buying Americans’ location and other commercially available data from brokers, reviving a practice the bureau had previously said it was not actively pursuing. Director **Kash Patel** told lawmakers the agency uses purchased data in ways it says are consistent with the Constitution and the **Electronic Communications Privacy Act**, while Sen. **Ron Wyden** characterized the practice as a warrantless workaround to Fourth Amendment protections. Reporting on DHS also indicates declining transparency, with Privacy Impact Assessment filings falling sharply and the department’s inspector general accusing the agency of obstructing audits tied to biometric data management and immigration enforcement, reinforcing concerns that federal surveillance capabilities are growing faster than meaningful oversight.
Jun 29, 2026