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Government Surveillance, Privacy & Data

CDT and EPIC File Amicus Brief Arguing for Protections for E-Scooter Location Information

Do users of e-scooters have a privacy interest in the e-scooter trips that they take?  We think so, and argued to the Ninth Circuit that compelled disclosure of the location of e-scooters on an ongoing basis, both in real time and from storage, requires a warrant under the Fourth Amendment. After all, the Supreme Court already ruled in Carpenter v. U.S. that compelled disclosure of seven days or more of stored cell site location information requires a warrant because location information can reveal so much about a person’s activities.

In the amicus brief we filed in Sanchez v. Los Angeles Dept. of Transportation, CDT and the Electronic Privacy Information Center argue that e-scooter location information is also sensitive, is protected by the Fourth Amendment warrant requirement, and that Los Angeles can meet its policy goals without violating the rights of e-scooter users by compelling mass disclosure of information about the e-scooter trips they take.

Read the full brief here.