Investigators and law enforcement agencies in the US are reportedly issuing Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo with ‘keyword warrants’ that require them to provide the IP addresses and other personally-identifiable information about users who searched for a particular search term, or ‘keyword’, during a particular period of time. Investigative techniques used by law enforcement agencies have often been a contentious issue among civil right activists and privacy advocates, but the increasingly invasive and expansive methods being used of late have got many people questioning the reality of their online privacy.
Alongside keyword warrants, investigators are also using controversial geofence warrants to identify suspects in various crimes. According to recent reports, the FBI resorted to Google geofencing data to charge at least 45 people in the U.S. Capitol riots case although experts are divided on its wider implications. While some believe that the unusual nature of the Jan. 6 riots require unusual investigative methods, others have denounced the practice, saying it can create major privacy issues for innocent citizens.
Keyword warrants are highly controversial as, instead of gathering information about a particular suspect, they demand details about every single individual who searched for a certain keyword during a particular timeframe. It has been described by some as a dragnet that can reveal the names, addresses, and other sensitive data about innocent people who might have searched for the same keyword(s) without any malicious intent. What makes things worse, judges who sign off on these warrants are often ignorant about the technology and do not understand how these can compromise the privacy of innocent users. As things stand, judges in US courts have reportedly been issuing such warrants for years. According to Forbes, one of the most notable cases where investigators used keyword warrants against Google, Microsoft (Bing), and Yahoo was a kidnapping and sexual assault case of a minor in Wisconsin in 2019. Per the report, the investigators obtained details about their suspects using keyword warrants for everyone who searched for the victim’s name, the mother’s name, and the address over a period of sixteen days. Google reportedly handed over the data in mid-2020, though it is unclear how many users had their information compromised in this case.
Keyword Warrants Can Become A Surveillance Tool
As explained in the same report, one of the most high-profile cases where keyword warrants were used was related to the investigation of R&B superstar R. Kelly. The warrants were not meant for the singer, but for associates who the police suspected of arson and witness intimidation. In that case, a judge in New York authorized a search warrant to Google for users who searched for the address of the arson victim in the lead-up to the crime. Other notable cases where investigators have used keyword warrants include a fraud case in 2017 and the Austin bombings in 2018.
Privacy activists have been up in arms over keyword warrants as they enable police to personally identify all users in a physical area, even though most of them are not related to the crime. According to those opposing the use, it is a violation of people’s Fourth Amendment right which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures. While geofence warrants can compromise privacy simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, keyword warrants can have equally chilling consequences for searching the wrong keyword at the wrong time.
With the expansion of such far-reaching investigative techniques, the State gains a powerful tool to track members of a protest (like what happened with the geofencing warrants in Kenosha), threatening the constitutional rights of American citizens. It can also enable the State to monitor members of any racial and/or religious community. If used judiciously, the technology can help investigators find dangerous criminals, but in the hands of the wrong people, it can become a surveillance tool that could even lead to the intimidation of activists and suppress freedom.
