Law enforcement in three states, including Minnesota, have been using a controversial strategy to investigate crimes by identifying individuals who use Google to search for specific keywords related to those cases. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is currently reviewing whether these “reverse orders” issued to Google violate the Constitution. One such order was issued in the case of Dr. Cathy Donovan’s unsolved death in Mille Lacs County, which has raised concerns among digital privacy advocates nationwide. The Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Andrew Crocker expressed worries about the vast amount of unnecessary information that Google could produce in response to such orders.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension obtained a court order earlier this year requiring Google to provide the IP addresses of anyone who searched for specific keywords related to the hit-and-run that killed Donovan. While authorities claim that these orders can help identify witnesses and eliminate suspects, there have been no suspects or arrests announced in the Donovan case. A similar reverse search warrant helped Pennsylvania authorities track down a suspect in a rape and kidnapping case, leading to a conviction. However, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is now examining whether these warrants violate the requirement of probable cause in the Constitution.
Law enforcement expert JP Nixon sees these warrants as valuable tools for cases with limited leads but expresses concern about their potential abuse for spying on individuals. The broad terms of the Minnesota hit-and-run investigation’s reverse order raise questions about the extent of personal information collected. The Colorado Supreme Court previously upheld a reverse keyword search warrant in an arson case, which resulted in the identification of a suspect, but the ruling only applies to Colorado.
Law enforcement and digital privacy experts anticipate more legal challenges to these warrants in the future, with the possibility of a high-profile case reaching the U.S. Supreme Court. While law enforcement officials are keen on catching suspects using these warrants, the ultimate judicial decision on their legality remains uncertain. Investigators continue to seek the public’s help in identifying the hit-and-run driver in Dr. Donovan’s case, urging anyone with information to contact the State Patrol.
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