1 00:00:02,840 --> 00:00:05,680 Speaker 1: Hi, it's West Kasova. We're taking a break this week 2 00:00:05,680 --> 00:00:08,799 Speaker 1: for the holidays, so here's an episode you might have 3 00:00:08,920 --> 00:00:16,759 Speaker 1: missed by now. We all know Google and other tech 4 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:20,480 Speaker 1: companies are collecting huge amounts of information about our digital 5 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:24,759 Speaker 1: and actual lives, what we search for, what we watch 6 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:28,920 Speaker 1: and listen to, and where we are at any given time. 7 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:32,640 Speaker 1: In large part that's so advertisers who pay for that 8 00:00:32,800 --> 00:00:36,680 Speaker 1: data can pester us to buy things. But Bloomberg's Davy 9 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:40,480 Speaker 1: Alba and Julia Love report that this vastrophe of personal 10 00:00:40,479 --> 00:00:44,880 Speaker 1: information about millions of people is now increasingly also being 11 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:49,839 Speaker 1: sought by police departments across the US. They're asking judges 12 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:53,680 Speaker 1: for warrants to compel Google to turn over location and 13 00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:55,000 Speaker 1: other user data. 14 00:00:55,480 --> 00:01:00,240 Speaker 2: Google says that it receives more than sixty thousand and 15 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:04,120 Speaker 2: search warrants, and this was true in the US last year. 16 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:07,480 Speaker 2: That's more than double the number from twenty nineteen. 17 00:01:08,319 --> 00:01:12,680 Speaker 3: I think these requests put Google in a difficult spot 18 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:16,959 Speaker 3: because these are court orders. They're not just optional. 19 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:22,280 Speaker 1: And later, Mesa, Arizona detective Travis Stobb tells us how 20 00:01:22,319 --> 00:01:23,759 Speaker 1: police use this information. 21 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:28,200 Speaker 4: It's another tool on our toolkit, and it's a welcome one. 22 00:01:28,319 --> 00:01:30,280 Speaker 5: It just gives us another avenue. 23 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:33,040 Speaker 4: To turn to when we're coming up dry on more 24 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:34,920 Speaker 4: traditional investigative techniques. 25 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:44,319 Speaker 1: I'm Wescosova today on the Big Take Cops cast a 26 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:58,560 Speaker 1: Digital Dragnet. I asked Davy why she and Julia decided 27 00:01:58,600 --> 00:02:01,920 Speaker 1: to look into how police departments are using all this 28 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:04,720 Speaker 1: information that Google collects about us. 29 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:10,600 Speaker 2: I think we've known that Google is collecting an enormous 30 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:13,960 Speaker 2: amount of data on each and every one of us. Basically, 31 00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:17,240 Speaker 2: if you have a Google account, you are handing over 32 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:21,840 Speaker 2: data on where you've been, what you've searched, and Google 33 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:26,079 Speaker 2: slurps up all this data to use in a lot 34 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:29,960 Speaker 2: of cases for advertising. So you have all of this 35 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:34,560 Speaker 2: history that you're keeping with Google that's in your account, 36 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:38,240 Speaker 2: and it just so happens that cops are also interested 37 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:40,799 Speaker 2: in that when they are trying to solve a crime. 38 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:47,919 Speaker 2: So we suspected that there was this match between all 39 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:51,120 Speaker 2: the data that we were giving Google and users are 40 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:54,880 Speaker 2: giving Google, and the way that the cops try to 41 00:02:54,919 --> 00:02:58,800 Speaker 2: mind that data to solve these crimes that have taken place, 42 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:03,920 Speaker 2: And we wanted to know whether cops were using this 43 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:09,680 Speaker 2: for very serious crimes or if they were also interested 44 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:16,880 Speaker 2: in this data for petty ones theft, graffiti, vandalism, And 45 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:21,000 Speaker 2: what we found was that this practice was incredibly widespread 46 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:24,720 Speaker 2: all over the US. Tiny police departments all over the 47 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:27,800 Speaker 2: country are using Google data to try to solve crimes, 48 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:33,000 Speaker 2: and the crimes weren't always necessarily serious ones. They did 49 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:36,440 Speaker 2: include some of these more minor offenses as well. 50 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:39,840 Speaker 1: And Julia, how'd you find this out? 51 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:45,520 Speaker 3: If cops want to dip into Doodle's data, they have 52 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:49,560 Speaker 3: to obtain a search warrant from a judge. The company 53 00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:53,840 Speaker 3: will not simply open up its files for any law 54 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:58,080 Speaker 3: enforcement officer who comes knocking. They have to have a 55 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:01,800 Speaker 3: valid court order, and so in order to do this, 56 00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:06,200 Speaker 3: police officers will write up an affi David that it 57 00:04:06,200 --> 00:04:10,440 Speaker 3: explains the trime that occurred and why they feel that 58 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:15,440 Speaker 3: Goodle might have information that could be helpful in building 59 00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:20,160 Speaker 3: out the investigation. So we sought to get our hands 60 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:24,360 Speaker 3: on those search warrants. We knew that was the best 61 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:28,120 Speaker 3: way that we could see what cops were actually requesting. 62 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:33,039 Speaker 2: Unfortunately, for US, search warrants are public records, so we 63 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:37,800 Speaker 2: could actually visit the courthouses and collect them for our 64 00:04:37,839 --> 00:04:38,880 Speaker 2: reporting purposes. 65 00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:44,240 Speaker 1: Julia and a police department gets a warrant for Google 66 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:46,880 Speaker 1: to give the information. What exactly are they asking for? 67 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:49,640 Speaker 1: What kind of information do they want Google to give? 68 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:53,920 Speaker 3: In the case of location warrants, this is all about 69 00:04:54,040 --> 00:04:58,560 Speaker 3: where a specific device was at at a particular moment 70 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:02,880 Speaker 3: in time. Little is able to pull in information from 71 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:09,040 Speaker 3: why Fi hotspots, the phones, GPS, sell tower connections, and 72 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:13,159 Speaker 3: that gives them a pretty good ability to estimate where 73 00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:18,200 Speaker 3: a particular device was at a given time within several 74 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:19,640 Speaker 3: feet actually. 75 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:22,800 Speaker 1: And so Davey, it seems like they're casting a pretty 76 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:25,320 Speaker 1: wide net here they are. 77 00:05:26,360 --> 00:05:29,520 Speaker 2: The way it works is the police will give let's 78 00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:34,560 Speaker 2: say four coordinates. These are just x y coordinates on 79 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:38,480 Speaker 2: a map, and then with these four points, they'll draw 80 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:43,880 Speaker 2: a shape around a certain area and we'll say, okay, Google, 81 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:46,680 Speaker 2: give me all of the devices that have been in 82 00:05:46,760 --> 00:05:51,960 Speaker 2: this polygon over a certain amount of time. So some 83 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:55,800 Speaker 2: of the warrants we've seen have covered just minutes. So 84 00:05:56,680 --> 00:05:59,719 Speaker 2: when the police know when a crime has occurred, they 85 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:03,240 Speaker 2: can say, okay, within a five minute period, tell us 86 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:06,200 Speaker 2: who was in this area. But we've also seen law 87 00:06:06,279 --> 00:06:11,000 Speaker 2: enforcement agencies going to Google asking them for how many 88 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:14,520 Speaker 2: devices were in this area for up to a week. 89 00:06:15,480 --> 00:06:18,880 Speaker 1: Julia, can you give us some examples of times where 90 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:22,920 Speaker 1: police departments went to Google and said, we want this information. 91 00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:29,200 Speaker 3: In one case, a woman's purse was stolen in the 92 00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:34,320 Speaker 3: parking lot of a target in Scottsdale, Arizona. In that case, 93 00:06:34,800 --> 00:06:39,880 Speaker 3: the police sought a warrant for Doodle's location data information 94 00:06:40,080 --> 00:06:43,159 Speaker 3: for people who were in that parking lot at the 95 00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:48,880 Speaker 3: time that the woman's purse was drabbed. In another case 96 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:55,760 Speaker 3: that we found out of Raleigh, North Carolina, a detective 97 00:06:56,160 --> 00:06:59,880 Speaker 3: was warming up his car in the morning and he 98 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:04,920 Speaker 3: ran into his apartment to get something, leaving the car running, 99 00:07:05,520 --> 00:07:09,800 Speaker 3: and when he came back, the vehicle had vanished with 100 00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:15,440 Speaker 3: some police dear inside, including a police radio. And so 101 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:21,320 Speaker 3: the Raleigh Police Department obtained one warrant for Doodle's location 102 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:24,880 Speaker 3: data to see who had been in the neighborhood at 103 00:07:24,880 --> 00:07:26,000 Speaker 3: the time of the trime. 104 00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:29,880 Speaker 1: And Julia, what did the Raleigh Police Department say about 105 00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:30,320 Speaker 1: the case? 106 00:07:30,920 --> 00:07:33,960 Speaker 3: The Raleigh Police Department said that they ultimately did not 107 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:37,880 Speaker 3: recover that radio that they were seeking to find. They 108 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:40,680 Speaker 3: also said they always strive to recover stolen property. 109 00:07:43,120 --> 00:07:46,760 Speaker 1: Dave, even though we all have Google accounts. These warrants 110 00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:48,880 Speaker 1: don't cover you know, tens of millions of people. They 111 00:07:48,920 --> 00:07:53,160 Speaker 1: only cover whatever devices may have been in a particular 112 00:07:53,200 --> 00:07:56,360 Speaker 1: area at a particular time around a crime scene. Is 113 00:07:56,360 --> 00:07:56,720 Speaker 1: that right? 114 00:07:57,840 --> 00:08:02,040 Speaker 2: Yes, that is correct. But the pool of people that 115 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:05,080 Speaker 2: the cops in Google are drawing this data from is 116 00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:09,680 Speaker 2: a huge pool, and that can be, you know, incredibly invasive. 117 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:14,160 Speaker 2: Your stuff can get ensnared in these warrants, Julia. 118 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:17,920 Speaker 1: So Google gets all of these warrants telling them they 119 00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:21,160 Speaker 1: have to give up information. How does the company deal 120 00:08:21,200 --> 00:08:24,160 Speaker 1: with this? What's their position about all of these requestsing 121 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:27,520 Speaker 1: you have to give up the user data of your customers. 122 00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:33,360 Speaker 3: I think these requests put Goodle in a difficult spot because, 123 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:37,160 Speaker 3: on the one hand, these are court orders. They're not 124 00:08:37,400 --> 00:08:41,880 Speaker 3: just optional, as a former Doodle leadal director told us. 125 00:08:42,559 --> 00:08:46,319 Speaker 3: But at the same time, the company really values safeguarding 126 00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:49,520 Speaker 3: its users privacy, and so it has to watch this 127 00:08:49,679 --> 00:08:54,640 Speaker 3: line between helping law enforcement with their investigations and also 128 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:58,920 Speaker 3: not letting any detective rifle through any user's data. 129 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:05,680 Speaker 1: Google gets a warrant to hand over some information, what 130 00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:06,280 Speaker 1: do they do? 131 00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:12,320 Speaker 3: Goodle receives thousands of requests from law enforcement in the 132 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:16,080 Speaker 3: United States each year, and so they've come up with 133 00:09:16,200 --> 00:09:21,200 Speaker 3: some formulas to respond to the common requests to give 134 00:09:21,320 --> 00:09:26,360 Speaker 3: their legal specialists a roadmap to follow. Law enforcement will 135 00:09:26,480 --> 00:09:30,920 Speaker 3: request information about devices that were present near the time 136 00:09:30,960 --> 00:09:34,680 Speaker 3: of the crime, and Goodle will simply provide a list 137 00:09:34,880 --> 00:09:40,920 Speaker 3: of anonymous device ideas that do not reveal which person 138 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:46,600 Speaker 3: was tied to that device. Law enforcement will carefully go 139 00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:51,680 Speaker 3: over this list and they'll identify a subset of devices 140 00:09:51,920 --> 00:09:56,720 Speaker 3: that they would like expanded information about to see where 141 00:09:56,760 --> 00:10:01,440 Speaker 3: the device was before and a after the time of 142 00:10:01,480 --> 00:10:05,600 Speaker 3: the trime to help them decide who they really want 143 00:10:05,640 --> 00:10:10,920 Speaker 3: to focus on. And Google will provide account information that's 144 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:14,520 Speaker 3: usually the name that the account was registered under and 145 00:10:14,600 --> 00:10:18,480 Speaker 3: an email address for that final batch of users. 146 00:10:20,679 --> 00:10:24,440 Speaker 1: Davy Julius said earlier that Google gets thousands of these 147 00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:28,760 Speaker 1: requests for information a year. Just how many do they get? 148 00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:33,840 Speaker 2: So Google says that it receives more than sixty thousand 149 00:10:34,080 --> 00:10:38,040 Speaker 2: search warrants and this was true in the US last year. 150 00:10:38,679 --> 00:10:42,440 Speaker 2: That's more than double the number from twenty nineteen. And 151 00:10:42,520 --> 00:10:46,480 Speaker 2: their company provides at least some information in about eighty 152 00:10:46,520 --> 00:10:47,679 Speaker 2: percent of cases. 153 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:51,319 Speaker 1: You said, there's this group of people at Google whose 154 00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:53,320 Speaker 1: job it is to do this? Who are they? 155 00:10:53,920 --> 00:10:57,360 Speaker 2: It's a team known as the Legal Investigation Support Team 156 00:10:57,559 --> 00:11:01,480 Speaker 2: or LIS. Their whole job is through view search warrants 157 00:11:01,520 --> 00:11:05,840 Speaker 2: and subpoenas, and they try to push back on as 158 00:11:05,840 --> 00:11:09,640 Speaker 2: many as they can using what they have at their disposal. 159 00:11:09,880 --> 00:11:14,400 Speaker 2: So let's say someone misspelled a Gmail account and it's 160 00:11:14,920 --> 00:11:20,160 Speaker 2: gamil dot com instead of Gmail dot com. Once these 161 00:11:20,360 --> 00:11:24,800 Speaker 2: warrants are served to Google, Google does have an obligation 162 00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:30,760 Speaker 2: to respond, a legal obligation, And so when they go 163 00:11:30,840 --> 00:11:33,920 Speaker 2: through these warrants and try to sort through them and 164 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:37,439 Speaker 2: scrutinize them, they are trying to make sure they're doing 165 00:11:37,480 --> 00:11:41,520 Speaker 2: it just as precisely as possible, you know, to the 166 00:11:41,600 --> 00:11:45,600 Speaker 2: letter of the law, to make sure that they can 167 00:11:46,280 --> 00:11:50,680 Speaker 2: only give up people's information when it is absolutely necessary. 168 00:11:50,520 --> 00:11:53,160 Speaker 3: And I would say also the minimum amount of information 169 00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:56,280 Speaker 3: necessary to comply with this request. 170 00:11:56,920 --> 00:12:00,760 Speaker 1: So Google is only one of many services are tracking 171 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:03,440 Speaker 1: us and gathering up our information. What about Apple and 172 00:12:03,520 --> 00:12:06,760 Speaker 1: Apple Maps, which also helps you get around and tracks 173 00:12:06,800 --> 00:12:09,160 Speaker 1: your location. Do they also give up this kind of 174 00:12:09,160 --> 00:12:11,280 Speaker 1: information in response to warrants? 175 00:12:11,800 --> 00:12:14,920 Speaker 3: Law enforcement experts have told us that Google is the 176 00:12:14,920 --> 00:12:18,800 Speaker 3: only company that can provide this detailed list of which 177 00:12:18,840 --> 00:12:23,000 Speaker 3: devices were present at a diven time, and Apple in 178 00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:29,439 Speaker 3: its transparency reports discloses that it does receive some geofence warrants, 179 00:12:29,520 --> 00:12:32,720 Speaker 3: as these location warrants are known, but they say that 180 00:12:32,800 --> 00:12:36,360 Speaker 3: they are not capable of complying with those warrants. 181 00:12:36,880 --> 00:12:39,960 Speaker 2: But it doesn't actually matter because a lot of people 182 00:12:40,040 --> 00:12:43,760 Speaker 2: who have iPhones have Google apps on them. So if 183 00:12:43,800 --> 00:12:46,200 Speaker 2: you think about I have to get to a friend's 184 00:12:46,200 --> 00:12:49,440 Speaker 2: birthday party and how do I get there, I'll fire 185 00:12:49,520 --> 00:12:52,959 Speaker 2: up Google Maps and see the best subway route, and 186 00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:58,640 Speaker 2: that information is something that Google can see and does have. 187 00:12:59,640 --> 00:13:03,360 Speaker 1: Google sent Bloomberg a statement in response to questions about 188 00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:06,960 Speaker 1: these warrants about user data. They said with all law 189 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:10,920 Speaker 1: enforcement demands, including reverse warrants, they have a rigorous process 190 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:14,640 Speaker 1: designed to protect the privacy of their users while supporting 191 00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:18,080 Speaker 1: the important work of law enforcement. They said they examine 192 00:13:18,120 --> 00:13:22,040 Speaker 1: each demand for legal validity consistent with developing case law, 193 00:13:22,240 --> 00:13:26,199 Speaker 1: and they routinely push back against overbroad or otherwise inappropriate 194 00:13:26,240 --> 00:13:30,640 Speaker 1: demands for user data, including objecting to some demands entirely. 195 00:13:31,280 --> 00:13:34,520 Speaker 1: They said for years they've supported legislative reform to government 196 00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:40,160 Speaker 1: practices around access to user data, including proposing substantive guardrails 197 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:43,800 Speaker 1: on access to data and limits on the overuse of 198 00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:48,040 Speaker 1: GAG orders, which they say contribute to a lack of transparency. 199 00:13:49,559 --> 00:13:52,600 Speaker 1: I'll talk more with Julia and Davy a little later. 200 00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:56,400 Speaker 1: After the break, A detective tells us how police use 201 00:13:56,480 --> 00:14:07,960 Speaker 1: the data Google hands over. Now, let's get a look 202 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:11,480 Speaker 1: at how law enforcement uses this information in real life. 203 00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:15,199 Speaker 1: Detective Travis Stobb is an officer with the Mesa, Arizona 204 00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:20,360 Speaker 1: Police Department, which has sought search warrants for Google data. Travis, 205 00:14:20,400 --> 00:14:22,080 Speaker 1: can you tell me what it's like to be a 206 00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:25,880 Speaker 1: detective working a case, especially when you're running out of 207 00:14:25,920 --> 00:14:29,200 Speaker 1: avenues to pursue and you just can't quite find the 208 00:14:29,240 --> 00:14:30,520 Speaker 1: person who committed the crime. 209 00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:35,640 Speaker 4: Well, every case is different, obviously, and there comes with 210 00:14:35,680 --> 00:14:38,520 Speaker 4: it a certain frustration when you're not able to get 211 00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:41,000 Speaker 4: a break in the case, and you feel a lot 212 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:45,440 Speaker 4: of pressure both externally and internally, especially in these instances 213 00:14:45,520 --> 00:14:48,680 Speaker 4: where you have someone who continues to engage in an 214 00:14:48,800 --> 00:14:51,720 Speaker 4: armed robbery after armed robbery and you want to get 215 00:14:51,760 --> 00:14:56,000 Speaker 4: them caught before someone gets hurt, or just stop them 216 00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:59,600 Speaker 4: from doing what they're doing. And so the ability to 217 00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:02,640 Speaker 4: leverage this Google data was a. 218 00:15:02,560 --> 00:15:05,640 Speaker 5: Welcome addition to our toolkit for sure. 219 00:15:06,480 --> 00:15:09,160 Speaker 1: So tell me about a case where you use this 220 00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:13,000 Speaker 1: warrant and what happened me personally. 221 00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:16,200 Speaker 4: It's still under investigation, but it was a late night 222 00:15:16,280 --> 00:15:21,520 Speaker 4: gun store burglary where a device is inside of a 223 00:15:21,560 --> 00:15:24,960 Speaker 4: business that's empty, that's right next to the gun store, 224 00:15:25,520 --> 00:15:28,200 Speaker 4: and so that produces a very viable lead for us 225 00:15:28,200 --> 00:15:31,360 Speaker 4: to follow up on. And I've assisted other agencies as 226 00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:35,760 Speaker 4: well with analyzing the results from their Google warrants, in 227 00:15:35,800 --> 00:15:41,000 Speaker 4: particular some road rage type shootings where some aspect of 228 00:15:41,040 --> 00:15:43,720 Speaker 4: the crime is captured on video, and you can compare 229 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:46,480 Speaker 4: the video surveillance with the data you get from Google 230 00:15:46,760 --> 00:15:52,640 Speaker 4: to potentially identify the suspect. Unfortunately, my own personal experience 231 00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:54,720 Speaker 4: hasn't been as successful as others. 232 00:15:55,280 --> 00:15:58,880 Speaker 5: I strike out far more often than I succeed. 233 00:15:59,840 --> 00:16:02,160 Speaker 1: You walk us through the process of what it's like 234 00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:04,560 Speaker 1: to try to get this information from Google. 235 00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:08,040 Speaker 4: The current process right now begins with a search warrant 236 00:16:08,280 --> 00:16:13,640 Speaker 4: to obtain device IDs that are within a set geographical area. 237 00:16:14,400 --> 00:16:18,680 Speaker 4: So when we request this data from Google, we're asking 238 00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:21,520 Speaker 4: them to search within a geo fence, and that is 239 00:16:21,800 --> 00:16:27,600 Speaker 4: a geographical area defined by latitude and longitude, typically four points. 240 00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:32,360 Speaker 4: It's a square around a given area. We explain the 241 00:16:32,400 --> 00:16:36,400 Speaker 4: circumstances of the crime and what we're hoping to obtain 242 00:16:36,520 --> 00:16:40,440 Speaker 4: from Google and how it will assist our investigation. 243 00:16:41,520 --> 00:16:43,320 Speaker 1: How easy is it to get a warrant like that 244 00:16:43,400 --> 00:16:45,800 Speaker 1: from a judge. 245 00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:47,880 Speaker 5: Here in Maricopa County. We have to really work it. 246 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:52,560 Speaker 4: There's been some recent court rulings in case law that 247 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:58,000 Speaker 4: shine a spotlight on these kind of warrants some privacy concerns, 248 00:16:58,560 --> 00:17:02,400 Speaker 4: and so we work with those commissioners at our initial 249 00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:05,320 Speaker 4: appearance court at the Search Warrant Center to really make 250 00:17:05,359 --> 00:17:08,760 Speaker 4: sure that we're keeping our scope narrow, that we're not 251 00:17:09,160 --> 00:17:13,800 Speaker 4: being overly broad, that we are doing everything we can 252 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:18,040 Speaker 4: to ensure that we're not infringing upon the privacy of 253 00:17:18,080 --> 00:17:20,160 Speaker 4: those persons who are not involved. 254 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:21,520 Speaker 5: In the crime but are simply in the area. 255 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:24,560 Speaker 4: So we work really hard to make sure that we 256 00:17:24,720 --> 00:17:27,760 Speaker 4: tailor the geo fence in such a manner that it 257 00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:31,600 Speaker 4: zeros in on the area where the crime was committed. 258 00:17:32,359 --> 00:17:34,520 Speaker 1: Has a judge ever turned you down when you ask 259 00:17:34,560 --> 00:17:37,080 Speaker 1: for one of these warrants or asked you to refine 260 00:17:37,119 --> 00:17:37,840 Speaker 1: the information. 261 00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:42,520 Speaker 4: Yes, probably about half of the Google geofence warrants that 262 00:17:42,600 --> 00:17:48,960 Speaker 4: I've written have undergone a refinement process after being submitted 263 00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:52,359 Speaker 4: the first time round. And again it's just trying to 264 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:55,520 Speaker 4: zero in strictly on the information that we want to 265 00:17:55,560 --> 00:17:59,480 Speaker 4: obtain and keep out that extraneous information. 266 00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:02,479 Speaker 1: All right, So you get your warrant from the judge 267 00:18:02,800 --> 00:18:05,000 Speaker 1: and you take it to Google. What are you asking 268 00:18:05,080 --> 00:18:07,920 Speaker 1: Google for in a typical case, like how do you say, hey, 269 00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:09,159 Speaker 1: I want information? 270 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:15,880 Speaker 4: So Google retains all this data on any device that 271 00:18:16,080 --> 00:18:20,720 Speaker 4: has an Android platform or a Google app on it, 272 00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:24,640 Speaker 4: such as the Gmail app or Google Maps. And what 273 00:18:24,680 --> 00:18:28,399 Speaker 4: we're essentially asking from Google is to provide us the 274 00:18:28,920 --> 00:18:33,280 Speaker 4: data that they keep stored within their servers that provides 275 00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:37,439 Speaker 4: locational data for devices that are running some sort of 276 00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:43,800 Speaker 4: Google platform or app. And their locational data is based 277 00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:47,040 Speaker 4: off of a variety of different things, whether it's the 278 00:18:47,119 --> 00:18:50,359 Speaker 4: GPS on the phone, or it's connecting to Wi Fi, 279 00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:53,720 Speaker 4: it's connecting to a cell phone tower, and it comes 280 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:57,320 Speaker 4: with varying degrees of accuracy. But ultimately what we want 281 00:18:57,359 --> 00:19:01,600 Speaker 4: from them is any device that is within this pre 282 00:19:01,720 --> 00:19:05,600 Speaker 4: defined geographical boundary, and that is the geofence. 283 00:19:06,320 --> 00:19:08,080 Speaker 5: If we have a. 284 00:19:07,560 --> 00:19:11,320 Speaker 4: Murder that's committed inside of a residence, I typically four 285 00:19:11,359 --> 00:19:15,800 Speaker 4: point the corners of that residence, the property itself, and 286 00:19:15,880 --> 00:19:19,000 Speaker 4: if we have, say a getaway path, we know that 287 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:22,240 Speaker 4: the suspect fled down the street in a certain direction, 288 00:19:22,640 --> 00:19:25,920 Speaker 4: then I'll four point the sidewalk in the street where 289 00:19:25,960 --> 00:19:30,800 Speaker 4: he fled. And we're narrowing those geographical boundaries the geo 290 00:19:30,880 --> 00:19:34,800 Speaker 4: fence so as not to overlap houses of people who 291 00:19:34,840 --> 00:19:37,399 Speaker 4: are uninvolved. We're looking just for that area where the 292 00:19:37,520 --> 00:19:38,600 Speaker 4: suspect was. 293 00:19:39,760 --> 00:19:43,320 Speaker 1: So you go to Google with this information within this 294 00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:45,639 Speaker 1: geo fence, where does it go from there? 295 00:19:46,200 --> 00:19:49,639 Speaker 4: When they returned the information to us, they identified the 296 00:19:49,680 --> 00:19:55,320 Speaker 4: devices through an anonymized alphanumeric code. It's very long and 297 00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:59,960 Speaker 4: it contains absolutely zero identifying information about the account hold. 298 00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:03,240 Speaker 4: And this is to protect the privacy of those devices 299 00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:07,000 Speaker 4: that will inevitably capture that are uninvolved. So it's upon 300 00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:10,159 Speaker 4: us as detectives to study all the devices that have 301 00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:13,919 Speaker 4: been provided and determine which ones are most likely connected 302 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:17,240 Speaker 4: to the crime that we're investigating, while filtering out those 303 00:20:17,320 --> 00:20:22,119 Speaker 4: that we believe are uninvolved. At that point, we write 304 00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:27,760 Speaker 4: a second search warrant for further locational data on those 305 00:20:27,800 --> 00:20:32,639 Speaker 4: devices that we believe are most likely involved, and that information, 306 00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:36,880 Speaker 4: when it's returned to us from Google, will show locational 307 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:40,520 Speaker 4: data for those devices an hour prior to and an 308 00:20:40,520 --> 00:20:45,159 Speaker 4: hour after the timeframe set within an original warrant, and 309 00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:45,760 Speaker 4: it will give. 310 00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:47,760 Speaker 5: Us locational data that falls outside of. 311 00:20:47,760 --> 00:20:50,399 Speaker 4: The geo fence, and we can use this to maybe 312 00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:54,800 Speaker 4: determine where people go and see if these devices are 313 00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:57,879 Speaker 4: in fact involved in the manner that we originally thought. 314 00:20:58,520 --> 00:21:01,399 Speaker 4: It's further clarifying and information, but at that point we 315 00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:06,000 Speaker 4: still have no account information, no identifying information on who 316 00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:09,359 Speaker 4: the actual owner is of that device. It's not until 317 00:21:09,359 --> 00:21:12,040 Speaker 4: we get the data back from that second search warrant 318 00:21:12,240 --> 00:21:14,960 Speaker 4: and we can further narrow down the scope. 319 00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:15,680 Speaker 5: Of what we're looking for. 320 00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:18,480 Speaker 4: And then we write a third search warrant, and that 321 00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:22,960 Speaker 4: search warrant is the one where we get actual account information, 322 00:21:23,040 --> 00:21:26,679 Speaker 4: account data, we identify the person who is associated to 323 00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:28,000 Speaker 4: that phone. 324 00:21:28,119 --> 00:21:31,600 Speaker 1: So has access to this kind of information. Changed the 325 00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:34,320 Speaker 1: way your investigations into crimes work. 326 00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:39,680 Speaker 4: Not really, it's for me in particular, As I said before, 327 00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:41,080 Speaker 4: I haven't. 328 00:21:40,800 --> 00:21:42,720 Speaker 5: Had a ton of luck with it. 329 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:46,080 Speaker 4: It's another tool on our toolkit, and it's a welcome one, 330 00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:49,000 Speaker 4: but it doesn't change the fundamentals really of how we 331 00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:52,320 Speaker 4: proceed with our investigations. It just gives us another avenue 332 00:21:52,359 --> 00:21:55,560 Speaker 4: to turn to when we're coming up dry on more 333 00:21:55,600 --> 00:22:00,520 Speaker 4: traditional investigative techniques. We want to use its kind of 334 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:05,359 Speaker 4: a measure of last resort. There's other quicker avenues of 335 00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:08,439 Speaker 4: investigation that can be taken at the beginning, and we 336 00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:11,520 Speaker 4: want to go through and exhaust those first. We're not 337 00:22:11,560 --> 00:22:15,280 Speaker 4: necessarily wanting to jump onto the geofense warrant right away 338 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:19,320 Speaker 4: when we could produce a suspect through other methods a 339 00:22:19,359 --> 00:22:22,520 Speaker 4: lot quicker because there is a time delay in obtaining 340 00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:26,959 Speaker 4: this information from Google, processing it, submitting the second warrant, 341 00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:28,960 Speaker 4: waiting it takes a little bit. 342 00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:32,080 Speaker 1: Are there any kind of crimes where you just don't 343 00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:33,800 Speaker 1: use this to afore. 344 00:22:34,280 --> 00:22:38,840 Speaker 4: We've been cautious in how we apply this, making sure 345 00:22:38,880 --> 00:22:42,119 Speaker 4: that we use it for serious crimes only. We would 346 00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:46,080 Speaker 4: not want to be using this for misdemeanor crimes, lower 347 00:22:46,160 --> 00:22:50,120 Speaker 4: level offenses. You know, we're looking at felony crimes. We're 348 00:22:50,119 --> 00:22:54,359 Speaker 4: looking at Part one crimes, which are going to be burglaries, arsons, 349 00:22:54,440 --> 00:23:00,000 Speaker 4: sex assaults, armed robberies, murders, the serious crimes. That's when 350 00:23:00,080 --> 00:23:02,600 Speaker 4: we're going to use an investigative technique like this. 351 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:07,480 Speaker 1: You talked a lot about how Google takes all these 352 00:23:07,480 --> 00:23:11,120 Speaker 1: measures to annimize the data. But as someone who's used 353 00:23:11,119 --> 00:23:14,440 Speaker 1: this and seen it used, do you have privacy concerns 354 00:23:14,480 --> 00:23:16,480 Speaker 1: about this to a certain extent? 355 00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:19,800 Speaker 4: I do you know my personal beliefs, Hue towards a 356 00:23:19,840 --> 00:23:23,200 Speaker 4: certain amount of privacy of the individual is very important 357 00:23:23,200 --> 00:23:26,359 Speaker 4: to me. I take it very seriously, and so when 358 00:23:26,680 --> 00:23:31,440 Speaker 4: the courts have privacy concerns, I take those seriously. It's 359 00:23:31,480 --> 00:23:35,320 Speaker 4: reassuring to me that the information that comes back to 360 00:23:35,400 --> 00:23:39,359 Speaker 4: us from Google, it's anonymized and it doesn't contain any 361 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:44,119 Speaker 4: personal information whatsoever about the person whose device it is 362 00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:49,200 Speaker 4: that we've captured in this geofence. Even more to the point, 363 00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:53,160 Speaker 4: the anonymized ideas that they assign to these devices, it's 364 00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:56,960 Speaker 4: only good for ninety days and then it's deleted and 365 00:23:57,000 --> 00:24:01,520 Speaker 4: there's no record of it. The pace at which technology advances, 366 00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:04,199 Speaker 4: the courts can't keep up with it, and so it 367 00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:07,280 Speaker 4: sits upon us to make sure that we're doing all 368 00:24:07,320 --> 00:24:10,520 Speaker 4: that we can to minimize those issues and I think 369 00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:14,359 Speaker 4: in this regard the search warrants and the way Google 370 00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:16,680 Speaker 4: disseminates that data, I think it's done a really good 371 00:24:16,760 --> 00:24:22,000 Speaker 4: job of protecting the privacy of individuals in regards to 372 00:24:22,040 --> 00:24:23,399 Speaker 4: this investigative technique. 373 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:27,280 Speaker 1: Detective, appreciate your time, Thanks for giving us this inside view. 374 00:24:28,119 --> 00:24:29,400 Speaker 5: Thank you very much for having me on. 375 00:24:30,680 --> 00:24:33,800 Speaker 1: When we come back, Bloomberg's Julia Love and Davey Alba 376 00:24:33,920 --> 00:24:37,320 Speaker 1: tell us about the pushback in some places against the 377 00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:49,880 Speaker 1: use of these warrants. Julia, do we have any idea 378 00:24:50,080 --> 00:24:53,600 Speaker 1: about whether this works. Does all this information in this 379 00:24:53,720 --> 00:24:57,840 Speaker 1: very complicated system lead to crimes being solved at higher rate? 380 00:24:58,600 --> 00:25:03,760 Speaker 3: We have certainly heard success stories, but we also found 381 00:25:04,119 --> 00:25:08,600 Speaker 3: many cases where this information did not pan out for 382 00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:14,320 Speaker 3: law enforcement. With the taste of that stolen purse in Scottsdale, Arizona, 383 00:25:14,520 --> 00:25:18,280 Speaker 3: the detective told me that he decided not to proceed 384 00:25:18,440 --> 00:25:21,119 Speaker 3: because he didn't think that this tool was going to 385 00:25:21,160 --> 00:25:22,440 Speaker 3: pan out for him. 386 00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:27,640 Speaker 2: We've talked to a police officer who said that they 387 00:25:27,720 --> 00:25:31,080 Speaker 2: were able to identify two suspects in a murder at 388 00:25:31,119 --> 00:25:31,960 Speaker 2: a local park. 389 00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:35,640 Speaker 3: We spoked with one detective in Arizona who told us 390 00:25:35,680 --> 00:25:41,119 Speaker 3: about a victory that his colleague had with these geofence warrants, 391 00:25:41,240 --> 00:25:45,760 Speaker 3: and it was a case of catalytic converter theft in 392 00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:49,920 Speaker 3: a parking structure, and using a geofence warrant, they were 393 00:25:49,960 --> 00:25:53,840 Speaker 3: able to find a device that was present near the 394 00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:57,159 Speaker 3: power box at the exact moment that the power was 395 00:25:57,240 --> 00:25:59,320 Speaker 3: shut off in the parking structure. 396 00:26:01,119 --> 00:26:03,719 Speaker 1: Davy, we talked earlier about how a lot of people's 397 00:26:03,800 --> 00:26:06,720 Speaker 1: data can wind up in one of these warrants and 398 00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:10,840 Speaker 1: these requests for information. Have they ever led to people 399 00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:12,480 Speaker 1: being wrongfully arrested? 400 00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:17,280 Speaker 2: Yes, we do know of at least one crime from 401 00:26:17,320 --> 00:26:21,880 Speaker 2: twenty eighteen where a man in Arizona was wrongly arrested 402 00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:26,560 Speaker 2: for murder based on the location of his phone. What 403 00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:31,600 Speaker 2: actually happened in that case was the man had left 404 00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:36,560 Speaker 2: his phone in a vehicle that a friend took and 405 00:26:36,600 --> 00:26:39,480 Speaker 2: then the fact that the phone was in the car 406 00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:44,240 Speaker 2: sort of pinpointed him as a possible suspect. But he 407 00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:47,200 Speaker 2: actually was not present in that case, and he was 408 00:26:47,520 --> 00:26:49,560 Speaker 2: wrongly accused and arrested. 409 00:26:50,280 --> 00:26:51,840 Speaker 1: And what happened in that case. 410 00:26:52,200 --> 00:26:54,160 Speaker 3: Police ultimately arrested another. 411 00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:59,359 Speaker 1: Suspect and he was ultimately cleared of charges. Yes, Davy 412 00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:02,040 Speaker 1: is anyone pushing back against these kinds of warrants, saying 413 00:27:02,040 --> 00:27:05,240 Speaker 1: that Google shouldn't have the handover users' data if the 414 00:27:05,280 --> 00:27:06,040 Speaker 1: police asked for it. 415 00:27:07,160 --> 00:27:12,640 Speaker 2: Yeah, we have spoken to law professors and privacy advocates 416 00:27:13,280 --> 00:27:19,800 Speaker 2: who say that this practice is incredibly invasive and that 417 00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:23,960 Speaker 2: Google should not have this data in the first place. 418 00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:31,119 Speaker 3: There's an important legal battle happening in Colorado. A group 419 00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:36,320 Speaker 3: of teenagers were charged with murder for an arson case 420 00:27:36,400 --> 00:27:40,040 Speaker 3: that happened there a few years ago. The police found 421 00:27:40,080 --> 00:27:45,119 Speaker 3: them through Doodle's search data for people who searched the 422 00:27:45,240 --> 00:27:48,879 Speaker 3: address of the house around the time of the fire. 423 00:27:49,800 --> 00:27:54,040 Speaker 3: But one of the defendant's lawyers are arguing that this 424 00:27:54,359 --> 00:28:00,520 Speaker 3: was an illegal search, and so that is posing the 425 00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:05,800 Speaker 3: first known challenge to the validity of this technique in 426 00:28:05,840 --> 00:28:06,360 Speaker 3: the country. 427 00:28:08,359 --> 00:28:11,439 Speaker 1: Davey, as you continue to report this story, what are 428 00:28:11,480 --> 00:28:13,480 Speaker 1: you looking for? Where do you think it goes from here? 429 00:28:14,240 --> 00:28:20,000 Speaker 2: I think that we will see more scrutiny on these practices, 430 00:28:20,760 --> 00:28:24,960 Speaker 2: and we may see more public outcry from folks who 431 00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:30,199 Speaker 2: are concerned that they could get ensnared in these warrants. 432 00:28:30,920 --> 00:28:36,000 Speaker 2: You know, there is that question of how the public 433 00:28:36,040 --> 00:28:41,360 Speaker 2: will react to the increased practice of using warrants to 434 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:46,800 Speaker 2: locate suspects. I think there's a question about how the 435 00:28:46,920 --> 00:28:51,920 Speaker 2: law will evolve to include the fact that this is 436 00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:56,480 Speaker 2: now possible. So, for instance, in the case of wiretapping, 437 00:28:57,320 --> 00:29:00,360 Speaker 2: that is a police technique that can only be used 438 00:29:00,400 --> 00:29:05,200 Speaker 2: for very serious cases like kidnapping, murder, drug trafficking, and 439 00:29:05,240 --> 00:29:09,040 Speaker 2: the like. But there's still no federal law that exists 440 00:29:09,680 --> 00:29:14,520 Speaker 2: for regulating this kind of technique where cops can go 441 00:29:14,600 --> 00:29:18,000 Speaker 2: to Google for location and search data, So it'll be 442 00:29:18,200 --> 00:29:20,760 Speaker 2: interesting to see how that evolves. 443 00:29:21,840 --> 00:29:25,120 Speaker 1: Davey Julia, thanks so much for coming on the show. 444 00:29:25,480 --> 00:29:27,320 Speaker 2: Thanks for having us. It was a pleasure. 445 00:29:27,880 --> 00:29:28,240 Speaker 5: Thank you. 446 00:29:29,520 --> 00:29:31,280 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to us Here at The Big Take. 447 00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:34,400 Speaker 1: It's a daily podcast from Bloomberg and iHeartRadio. For more 448 00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:38,440 Speaker 1: shows from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or 449 00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:41,000 Speaker 1: wherever you listen, and we'd love to hear from you. 450 00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:44,480 Speaker 1: Email us questions or comments to Big Take at Bloomberg 451 00:29:44,480 --> 00:29:48,120 Speaker 1: dot Nex. The supervising producer of The Big Take is 452 00:29:48,200 --> 00:29:52,400 Speaker 1: Vicky Bergolina. Our senior producer is Catherine Fink. This episode 453 00:29:52,440 --> 00:29:56,440 Speaker 1: was produced by Sam Gabauer and Christine Driscoll. Rafiel mcli 454 00:29:56,600 --> 00:30:00,120 Speaker 1: Is our engineer. Our original music was composed by Leo Sidrin. 455 00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:04,040 Speaker 1: I'm Westkesova. We'll be back tomorrow with another big take.