Amicus brief of CDT and Other Privacy Advocates in City of Ontario v. Quon

Communication in America is in the midst of a technological revolution. Information that individuals formerly conveyed in oral conversations (either face-to-face or over the telephone) or in letters or other physical correspondence is now routinely transmitted using text messages or emails. This case presents the Court with one of its first opportunities to address the application of the Fourth Amendment to private information conveyed via these new mediums of communications. Given the technological complexity of the context, and the extremely significant implications for continued pro-tection under the Fourth Amendment of Americans’ most private communications,  the Court should pro-ceed cautiously and limit its decision to the specific factual circumstances presented here.