Activist sues San Francisco PD after warrantless search of his phone
Amber Lyon ?@AmberLyon 45s
Activist sues San Francisco PD after warrantless search of his phone
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/03/activist-sues-san-francisco-pd-after-warrantless-search-of-his-phone/ … via @arstechnica #Privacy #SFPD
Offer-Westort was nervous about the police looking through his text messages because he had recently sent text message that included negative comments about a local politician and that he intended to relay exclusively to the message's recipient but otherwise to keep private; if this text message were made public it could adversely affect his ability to work with this politician and with other politicians.
Offer-Westort was therefore extremely concerned about the government reading his private text message about [the] politician; Offer-Westort asked Officer Chambers what he was doing [and] Officer Chambers stated something to the effect of: “Looking for text messages—how do you feel about that?”
Offer-Westort objected to the search, stating, "I don’t give you consent."
Officer Chambers did not cease the search upon Offer-Westort’s objection, instead responding with statement to the effect of: “The California Supreme Court gives me the right after I arrest you.”
(More at the link.)