1 00:00:02,160 --> 00:00:04,760 Speaker 1: By now, we all know Google and other tech companies 2 00:00:04,800 --> 00:00:08,280 Speaker 1: are collecting huge amounts of information about our digital and 3 00:00:08,560 --> 00:00:12,440 Speaker 1: actual lives, what we search for, what we watch and 4 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:16,440 Speaker 1: listen to, and where we are at any given time. 5 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:20,200 Speaker 1: In large part, that's so advertisers who pay for that 6 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:24,200 Speaker 1: data can pester us to buy things. But Bloomberg's Davy 7 00:00:24,239 --> 00:00:28,000 Speaker 1: Alba and Julia Love report that this vastrophe of personal 8 00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:32,400 Speaker 1: information about millions of people is now increasingly also being 9 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:37,360 Speaker 1: sought by police departments across the US. They're asking judges 10 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:41,239 Speaker 1: for warrants to compel Google to turn over location and 11 00:00:41,360 --> 00:00:42,840 Speaker 1: other user data. 12 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:48,760 Speaker 2: Google says that it receives more than sixty thousand search warrants, 13 00:00:49,159 --> 00:00:52,360 Speaker 2: and this was true in the US last year. That's 14 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:55,040 Speaker 2: more than double the number from twenty nineteen. 15 00:00:55,880 --> 00:01:00,920 Speaker 3: I think these requests put Google in a difficult because 16 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:03,959 Speaker 3: these are court orders. They're not just. 17 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:09,399 Speaker 1: Optional and later, Mesa Arizona detective Travis Stobb tells us 18 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:11,280 Speaker 1: how police use this information. 19 00:01:12,240 --> 00:01:15,600 Speaker 4: It's another tool on our toolkit, and it's a welcome one. 20 00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:18,720 Speaker 4: It just gives us another avenue to turn to when 21 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:22,480 Speaker 4: we're coming up dry on more traditional investigative techniques. 22 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:31,880 Speaker 1: I'm Wescsova today on the Big Take Cops cast a 23 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:46,080 Speaker 1: Digital dragnet I asked Davy why she and Julia decided 24 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:49,480 Speaker 1: to look into how police departments are using all this 25 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:52,240 Speaker 1: information that Google collects about us. 26 00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:58,160 Speaker 2: I think we've known that Google is collecting an enormous 27 00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:01,440 Speaker 2: amount of data on each every one of us. Basically, 28 00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:04,760 Speaker 2: if you have a Google account, you are handing over 29 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:09,400 Speaker 2: data on where you've been, what you've searched, and Google 30 00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:13,600 Speaker 2: slurps up all this data to use in a lot 31 00:02:13,639 --> 00:02:17,480 Speaker 2: of cases for advertising. So you have all of this 32 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:22,160 Speaker 2: history that you're keeping with Google that's in your account, 33 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:25,800 Speaker 2: and it just so happens that cops are also interested 34 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:28,359 Speaker 2: in that when they are trying to solve a crime. 35 00:02:29,080 --> 00:02:35,480 Speaker 2: So we suspected that there was this match between all 36 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:38,640 Speaker 2: the data that we were giving Google and users are 37 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:42,400 Speaker 2: giving Google and the way that the cops try to 38 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:46,320 Speaker 2: mind that data to solve these crimes that have taken place. 39 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:51,520 Speaker 2: And we wanted to know whether cops were using this 40 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:57,240 Speaker 2: for very serious crimes or if they were also interested 41 00:02:57,280 --> 00:03:04,440 Speaker 2: in this data for petty ones theft, graffiti, vandalism. And 42 00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:08,560 Speaker 2: what we found was that this practice was incredibly widespread 43 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:12,240 Speaker 2: all over the US. Tiny police departments all over the 44 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:15,799 Speaker 2: country are using Google data to try to solve crimes, 45 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:20,519 Speaker 2: and the crimes weren't always necessarily serious ones. They did 46 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:24,000 Speaker 2: include some of these more minor offenses as well. 47 00:03:25,919 --> 00:03:27,400 Speaker 1: And Julia, how'd you find this out? 48 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:33,079 Speaker 3: If cops want to dip into Doodle's data, they have 49 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:37,080 Speaker 3: to obtain a search warrant from a judge. The company 50 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:41,400 Speaker 3: will not simply open up its files for any law 51 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:44,160 Speaker 3: enforcement officer who comes knocking. 52 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:45,720 Speaker 4: They have to have a. 53 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:49,400 Speaker 3: Valid court order, and so in order to do this, 54 00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:54,680 Speaker 3: police officers will write up an affidavid that explains the 55 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:59,080 Speaker 3: crime that occurred and why they feel that Doodle might 56 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:04,440 Speaker 3: have information that could be helpful in building out the investigation. 57 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:10,000 Speaker 3: So we sought to get our hands on those search warrants. 58 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:12,800 Speaker 3: We knew that was the best way that we could 59 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:15,680 Speaker 3: see what cops were actually requesting. 60 00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:20,599 Speaker 2: Unfortunately, for US, search warrants are public records, so we 61 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:25,360 Speaker 2: could actually visit the courthouses and collect them for our 62 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:26,400 Speaker 2: reporting purposes. 63 00:04:27,680 --> 00:04:31,760 Speaker 1: Julia, When a police department gets a warrant for Google 64 00:04:31,839 --> 00:04:34,440 Speaker 1: to give the information, what exactly are they asking for? 65 00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:36,960 Speaker 1: What kind of information do they want Google to. 66 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:40,839 Speaker 3: Give In the case of location warrants, this is all 67 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:45,640 Speaker 3: about where a specific device was at at a particular 68 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:49,880 Speaker 3: moment in time. Google is able to pull in information 69 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:56,560 Speaker 3: from whyfy hotspots, the phones, GPS, sell tower connections, and 70 00:04:56,640 --> 00:05:00,680 Speaker 3: that gives them a pretty good ability to estimate where 71 00:05:00,760 --> 00:05:04,479 Speaker 3: a particular device was at a diven time. 72 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:09,360 Speaker 1: Within several feet actually, and so Davey, it seems like 73 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:12,880 Speaker 1: they're casting a pretty wide net here they are. 74 00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:17,080 Speaker 2: The way it works is the police will give let's 75 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:22,120 Speaker 2: say four coordinates. These are just x y coordinates on 76 00:05:22,200 --> 00:05:26,039 Speaker 2: a map, and then with these four points, they'll draw 77 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:31,400 Speaker 2: a shape around a certain area and we'll say, okay, Google, 78 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:34,240 Speaker 2: give me all of the devices that have been in 79 00:05:34,279 --> 00:05:39,520 Speaker 2: this polygon over a certain amount of time. So some 80 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:43,320 Speaker 2: of the warrants we've seen have covered just minutes. So 81 00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:47,320 Speaker 2: when the police know when a crime has occurred, they 82 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:50,760 Speaker 2: can say, okay, within a five minute period, tell us 83 00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:53,720 Speaker 2: who was in this area. But we've also seen law 84 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:58,520 Speaker 2: enforcement agencies going to Google asking them for how many 85 00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:02,080 Speaker 2: devices were in the area for up to a week. 86 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:06,440 Speaker 1: Julia, can you give us some examples of times where 87 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:10,960 Speaker 1: police departments went to Google and said, we want this information. 88 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:16,760 Speaker 3: In one case, a woman's purse was stolen in the 89 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:21,880 Speaker 3: parking lot of a target in Scottsdale, Arizona. In that case, 90 00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:27,400 Speaker 3: the police sought a warrant for Doodle's location data information 91 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:30,680 Speaker 3: for people who were in that parking lot at the 92 00:06:30,760 --> 00:06:36,400 Speaker 3: time that the woman's purse was grabbed. In another case 93 00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:43,280 Speaker 3: that we found out of Raleigh, North Carolina, a detective 94 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:47,560 Speaker 3: was warming up his car in the morning and he 95 00:06:48,120 --> 00:06:52,440 Speaker 3: ran into his apartment to get something, leaving the car running, 96 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:57,280 Speaker 3: and when he came back, the vehicle had vanished with 97 00:06:57,480 --> 00:07:02,960 Speaker 3: some police dear inside, including a police radio. And so 98 00:07:03,520 --> 00:07:08,880 Speaker 3: the Raleigh Police Department obtained one warrant for Doodle's location 99 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:12,400 Speaker 3: data to see who had been in the neighborhood at 100 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:13,560 Speaker 3: the time of the trime. 101 00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:17,440 Speaker 1: And Julia, what did the Raleigh Police Department say about 102 00:07:17,440 --> 00:07:17,840 Speaker 1: the case? 103 00:07:18,440 --> 00:07:21,520 Speaker 3: The Raleigh Police Department said that they ultimately did not 104 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:25,400 Speaker 3: recover that radio that they were seeking to find. They 105 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:28,120 Speaker 3: also said they always strive to recover stolen. 106 00:07:27,760 --> 00:07:33,960 Speaker 1: Property, Dave, Even though we all have Google accounts, these 107 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:36,280 Speaker 1: warrants don't cover, you know, tens of millions of people. 108 00:07:36,280 --> 00:07:40,080 Speaker 1: They only cover whatever devices may have been in a 109 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:43,760 Speaker 1: particular area. At a particular time around a crime scene. 110 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:44,280 Speaker 1: Is that right? 111 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:49,600 Speaker 2: Yes, that is correct. But the pool of people that 112 00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:52,640 Speaker 2: the cops and Google are drawing this data from is 113 00:07:52,960 --> 00:07:57,240 Speaker 2: a huge pool, and that can be, you know, incredibly invasive. 114 00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:01,720 Speaker 2: Your stuff can get ensnared in the warrants, Julia. 115 00:08:01,760 --> 00:08:05,440 Speaker 1: So Google gets all of these warrants telling them they 116 00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:08,680 Speaker 1: have to give up information. How does the company deal 117 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:11,720 Speaker 1: with this? What's their position about all of these requestsing 118 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:14,760 Speaker 1: you have to give up the user data of your customers. 119 00:08:15,880 --> 00:08:20,920 Speaker 3: I think these requests put Goodle in a difficult spot because, 120 00:08:21,160 --> 00:08:24,800 Speaker 3: on the one hand, these are court orders. They're not 121 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:29,440 Speaker 3: just optional, as a former Doodle leadal director told us. 122 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:33,880 Speaker 3: But at the same time, the company really values safeguarding 123 00:08:34,040 --> 00:08:37,080 Speaker 3: its users privacy, and so it has to walk this 124 00:08:37,240 --> 00:08:42,200 Speaker 3: line between helping law enforcement with their investigations and also 125 00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:46,440 Speaker 3: not letting any detective rifle through any user's data. 126 00:08:47,040 --> 00:08:52,640 Speaker 1: So when Google gets a warrant to hand over some information, 127 00:08:53,160 --> 00:08:53,840 Speaker 1: what do they do? 128 00:08:54,480 --> 00:08:59,800 Speaker 3: Google receives thousands of requests from law enforcement and the 129 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:03,600 Speaker 3: United States each year, and so they've come up with 130 00:09:03,720 --> 00:09:08,760 Speaker 3: some formulas to respond to the common requests to give 131 00:09:08,880 --> 00:09:13,880 Speaker 3: their legal specialists a roadmap to follow. Law enforcement will 132 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:18,439 Speaker 3: request information about devices that were present near the time 133 00:09:18,520 --> 00:09:22,200 Speaker 3: of the crime, and Doodle will simply provide a list 134 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:28,480 Speaker 3: of anonymous device ideas that do not reveal which person 135 00:09:28,920 --> 00:09:34,120 Speaker 3: was tied to that device. Law enforcement will carefully go 136 00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:39,240 Speaker 3: over this list and they'll identify a subset of devices 137 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:44,280 Speaker 3: that they would like expanded information about to see where 138 00:09:44,320 --> 00:09:49,560 Speaker 3: the device was before and after the time of the crime, 139 00:09:49,840 --> 00:09:53,959 Speaker 3: to help them decide who they really want to focus on, 140 00:09:54,880 --> 00:09:59,839 Speaker 3: and Doodle will provide account information that's usually the name 141 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:03,479 Speaker 3: that the account was registered under and an email address 142 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:06,000 Speaker 3: for that final batch of users. 143 00:10:08,200 --> 00:10:11,960 Speaker 1: Davy Julia said earlier that Google gets thousands of these 144 00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:16,319 Speaker 1: requests for information a year. Just how many do they get? 145 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:16,680 Speaker 4: So? 146 00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:21,960 Speaker 2: Google says that it receives more than sixty thousand search 147 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:25,560 Speaker 2: warrants and this was true in the US last year. 148 00:10:26,200 --> 00:10:29,960 Speaker 2: That's more than double the number from twenty nineteen, and 149 00:10:30,040 --> 00:10:34,040 Speaker 2: their company provides at least some information in about eighty 150 00:10:34,040 --> 00:10:35,199 Speaker 2: percent of cases. 151 00:10:35,960 --> 00:10:38,839 Speaker 1: You said, there's this group of people at Google whose 152 00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:40,800 Speaker 1: job it is to do this. Who are they? 153 00:10:41,480 --> 00:10:44,920 Speaker 2: It's a team known as the Legal Investigation Support Team 154 00:10:45,120 --> 00:10:48,960 Speaker 2: or LIS. Their whole job is to review search warrants 155 00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:53,360 Speaker 2: and subpoenas, and they try to push back on as 156 00:10:53,400 --> 00:10:57,200 Speaker 2: many as they can using what they have at their disposal. 157 00:10:57,440 --> 00:11:01,960 Speaker 2: So let's say someone misspelled a Gmail account and it's 158 00:11:02,480 --> 00:11:07,680 Speaker 2: gamil dot com instead of Gmail dot com. Once these 159 00:11:07,920 --> 00:11:12,359 Speaker 2: warrants are served to Google, Google does have an obligation 160 00:11:12,640 --> 00:11:18,319 Speaker 2: to respond, a legal obligation, And so when they go 161 00:11:18,400 --> 00:11:21,480 Speaker 2: through these warrants and try to sort through them and 162 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:25,000 Speaker 2: scrutinize them, they are trying to make sure they're doing 163 00:11:25,040 --> 00:11:29,040 Speaker 2: it just as precisely as possible, you know, to the 164 00:11:29,160 --> 00:11:33,199 Speaker 2: letter of the law, to make sure that they can 165 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:38,199 Speaker 2: only give up people's information when it is absolutely necessary and. 166 00:11:38,120 --> 00:11:41,520 Speaker 3: I would say also the minimum amount of information necessary 167 00:11:41,559 --> 00:11:43,840 Speaker 3: to comply with this request. 168 00:11:44,440 --> 00:11:47,760 Speaker 1: So Google is only one of many services that are 169 00:11:47,920 --> 00:11:50,840 Speaker 1: tracking us and gathering up our information. What about Apple 170 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:54,000 Speaker 1: and Apple Maps, which also helps you get around and 171 00:11:54,040 --> 00:11:56,559 Speaker 1: tracks your location. Do they also give up this kind 172 00:11:56,600 --> 00:11:58,880 Speaker 1: of information in response to warrants? 173 00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:02,240 Speaker 3: Law enforcement and experts have told us that Google is 174 00:12:02,280 --> 00:12:06,000 Speaker 3: the only company that can provide this detailed list of 175 00:12:06,080 --> 00:12:10,199 Speaker 3: which devices were present at a diven time, and Apple, 176 00:12:10,400 --> 00:12:14,840 Speaker 3: in its transparency reports discloses that it does receive some 177 00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:19,880 Speaker 3: geofence warrants, as these location warrants are known, but they 178 00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:23,920 Speaker 3: say that they are not capable of complying with those warrants. 179 00:12:24,400 --> 00:12:27,560 Speaker 2: But it doesn't actually matter because a lot of people 180 00:12:27,559 --> 00:12:31,319 Speaker 2: who have iPhones have Google apps on them. So if 181 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:33,679 Speaker 2: you think about I have to get to a friend's 182 00:12:33,760 --> 00:12:37,000 Speaker 2: birthday party and how do I get there, I'll fire 183 00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:40,480 Speaker 2: up Google Maps and see the best subway route, and 184 00:12:40,559 --> 00:12:46,199 Speaker 2: that information is something that Google can see and does have. 185 00:12:47,240 --> 00:12:50,880 Speaker 1: Google sent Bloomberg a statement in response to questions about 186 00:12:50,920 --> 00:12:54,520 Speaker 1: these warrants about user data. They said with all law 187 00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:58,480 Speaker 1: enforcement demands, including reverse warrants, they have a rigorous process 188 00:12:58,559 --> 00:13:01,520 Speaker 1: designed to protect their private see of their users while 189 00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:04,920 Speaker 1: supporting the important work of law enforcement. They said they 190 00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:09,600 Speaker 1: examine each demand for legal validity consistent with developing case law, 191 00:13:09,800 --> 00:13:13,760 Speaker 1: and they routinely push back against overbroad or otherwise inappropriate 192 00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:18,160 Speaker 1: demands for user data, including objecting to some demands entirely. 193 00:13:18,800 --> 00:13:22,080 Speaker 1: They said for years they've supported legislative reform to government 194 00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:27,679 Speaker 1: practices around access to user data, including proposing substantive guardrails 195 00:13:27,720 --> 00:13:31,320 Speaker 1: on access to data and limits on the overuse of 196 00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:35,559 Speaker 1: GAG orders, which they say contribute to a lack of transparency. 197 00:13:37,120 --> 00:13:40,160 Speaker 1: I'll talk more with Julia and Davy a little later. 198 00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:43,960 Speaker 1: After the break, a detective tells us how police use 199 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:55,520 Speaker 1: the data Google hands over. Now, let's get a look 200 00:13:55,520 --> 00:13:59,600 Speaker 1: at how law enforcement uses this information in real life. 201 00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:02,000 Speaker 1: I have a stop as an officer with a Mesa, 202 00:14:02,040 --> 00:14:07,920 Speaker 1: Arizona Police Department which has sought search warrants for Google data. Travis, 203 00:14:07,960 --> 00:14:09,640 Speaker 1: can you tell me what it's like to be a 204 00:14:09,679 --> 00:14:13,440 Speaker 1: detective working a case, especially when you're running out of 205 00:14:13,440 --> 00:14:16,760 Speaker 1: avenues to pursue and you just can't quite find the 206 00:14:16,760 --> 00:14:18,080 Speaker 1: person who committed the crime. 207 00:14:18,840 --> 00:14:23,200 Speaker 4: Well, every case is different, obviously, and there comes with 208 00:14:23,240 --> 00:14:26,080 Speaker 4: it a certain frustration when you're not able to get 209 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:28,520 Speaker 4: a break in the case, and you feel a lot 210 00:14:28,560 --> 00:14:33,000 Speaker 4: of pressure both externally and internally, especially in these instances 211 00:14:33,040 --> 00:14:36,520 Speaker 4: where you have someone who continues to engage in armed 212 00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:39,440 Speaker 4: robbery after armed robbery and you want to get them 213 00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:43,760 Speaker 4: caught before someone gets hurt, or just stop them from 214 00:14:43,760 --> 00:14:48,320 Speaker 4: doing what they're doing. And so the ability to leverage 215 00:14:48,360 --> 00:14:52,440 Speaker 4: this Google data was a welcome addition to our toolkit 216 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:53,160 Speaker 4: for sure. 217 00:14:54,040 --> 00:14:56,680 Speaker 1: So tell me about a case where you use this 218 00:14:56,800 --> 00:14:59,960 Speaker 1: warrant and what happened me personally. 219 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:03,760 Speaker 4: It's still under investigation, but it was a late night 220 00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:09,040 Speaker 4: gun store burglary where a device is inside of a 221 00:15:09,120 --> 00:15:12,480 Speaker 4: business that's empty, that's right next to the gun store, 222 00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:15,720 Speaker 4: and so that produces a very viable lead for us 223 00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:18,880 Speaker 4: to follow up on. And I've assisted other agencies as 224 00:15:18,920 --> 00:15:23,280 Speaker 4: well with analyzing the results from their Google warrants, in 225 00:15:23,360 --> 00:15:28,520 Speaker 4: particular some road rage type shootings where some aspect of 226 00:15:28,560 --> 00:15:31,240 Speaker 4: the crime is captured on video, and you can compare 227 00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:34,040 Speaker 4: the video surveillance with the data you get from Google 228 00:15:34,320 --> 00:15:40,160 Speaker 4: to potentially identify the suspect. Unfortunately, my own personal experience 229 00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:43,920 Speaker 4: hasn't been as successful as others. I strike out far 230 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:46,400 Speaker 4: more often than I succeed. 231 00:15:47,240 --> 00:15:49,520 Speaker 1: Can you walk us through the process of what it's 232 00:15:49,640 --> 00:15:52,080 Speaker 1: like to try to get this information from Google? 233 00:15:52,640 --> 00:15:55,600 Speaker 4: The current process right now begins with a search warrant 234 00:15:55,800 --> 00:16:01,120 Speaker 4: to obtain device IDs that are within a set geographical area. 235 00:16:01,960 --> 00:16:06,240 Speaker 4: So when we request this data from Google, we're asking 236 00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:09,080 Speaker 4: them to search within a geo fence, and that is 237 00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:15,120 Speaker 4: a geographical area defined by latitude and longitude, typically four points. 238 00:16:15,360 --> 00:16:19,920 Speaker 4: It's a square around a given area. We explain the 239 00:16:19,960 --> 00:16:23,920 Speaker 4: circumstances of the crime and what we're hoping to obtain 240 00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:28,000 Speaker 4: from Google and how it will assist our investigation. 241 00:16:29,040 --> 00:16:30,840 Speaker 1: How easy is it to get a warrant like that 242 00:16:30,920 --> 00:16:33,400 Speaker 1: from a judge. 243 00:16:32,360 --> 00:16:35,400 Speaker 4: Here in Maricopa County. We have to really work it. 244 00:16:35,920 --> 00:16:40,120 Speaker 4: There's been some recent court rulings in case law that 245 00:16:40,520 --> 00:16:45,560 Speaker 4: shine a spotlight on these kind of warrants some privacy concerns, 246 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:49,920 Speaker 4: and so we work with those commissioners at our initial 247 00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:52,880 Speaker 4: appearance court at the Search Warrant Center to really make 248 00:16:52,920 --> 00:16:56,280 Speaker 4: sure that we're keeping our scope narrow, that we're not 249 00:16:56,680 --> 00:17:01,320 Speaker 4: being overly broad, that we are doing everything we can 250 00:17:01,520 --> 00:17:05,560 Speaker 4: to ensure that we're not infringing upon the privacy of 251 00:17:05,600 --> 00:17:07,879 Speaker 4: those persons who are not involved in the crime but 252 00:17:07,920 --> 00:17:10,960 Speaker 4: are simply in the area. So we work really hard 253 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:13,840 Speaker 4: to make sure that we tailor the geo fence in 254 00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:17,720 Speaker 4: such a manner that it zeros in on the area 255 00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:19,160 Speaker 4: where the crime was committed. 256 00:17:19,920 --> 00:17:22,040 Speaker 1: Has a judge ever turned you down when you ask 257 00:17:22,119 --> 00:17:24,639 Speaker 1: for one of these warrants or asked you to refine 258 00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:25,359 Speaker 1: the information. 259 00:17:26,240 --> 00:17:30,000 Speaker 4: Yes. Probably about half of the Google geofence warrants that 260 00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:36,480 Speaker 4: I've written have undergone a refinement process after being submitted 261 00:17:36,520 --> 00:17:39,879 Speaker 4: the first time. Round and again, it's just trying to 262 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:43,080 Speaker 4: zero in strictly on the information that we want to 263 00:17:43,080 --> 00:17:47,000 Speaker 4: obtain and keep out that extraneous information. 264 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:50,160 Speaker 1: All right, So you get your warrant from the judge 265 00:17:50,359 --> 00:17:52,560 Speaker 1: and you take it to Google. What are you asking 266 00:17:52,640 --> 00:17:55,440 Speaker 1: Google for in a typical case, like how do you say, hey, 267 00:17:55,520 --> 00:17:56,679 Speaker 1: I want information? 268 00:17:57,560 --> 00:18:03,440 Speaker 4: So Google retains all this data on any device that 269 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:08,240 Speaker 4: has an Android platform or a Google app on it, 270 00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:12,159 Speaker 4: such as the Gmail app or Google Maps. And what 271 00:18:12,200 --> 00:18:15,919 Speaker 4: we're essentially asking from Google is to provide us the 272 00:18:16,480 --> 00:18:20,840 Speaker 4: data that they keep stored within their servers that provides 273 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:24,960 Speaker 4: locational data for devices that are running some sort of 274 00:18:25,359 --> 00:18:31,400 Speaker 4: Google platform or app. And their locational data is based 275 00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:34,560 Speaker 4: off of a variety of different things, whether it's the 276 00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:37,960 Speaker 4: GPS on the phone, or it's connecting to Wi Fi, 277 00:18:38,160 --> 00:18:41,240 Speaker 4: it's connecting to a cell phone tower, and it comes 278 00:18:41,280 --> 00:18:44,840 Speaker 4: with varying degrees of accuracy. But ultimately, what we want 279 00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:49,160 Speaker 4: from them is any device that is within this pre 280 00:18:49,240 --> 00:18:54,040 Speaker 4: defined geographical boundary, and that is the geo fence. If 281 00:18:54,040 --> 00:18:57,439 Speaker 4: we have a murder that's committed inside of a residence, 282 00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:01,600 Speaker 4: I typically four point the corners of that residence. The 283 00:19:01,720 --> 00:19:05,960 Speaker 4: property itself and if we have, say a getaway path, 284 00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:08,640 Speaker 4: we know that the suspect fled down the street in 285 00:19:08,840 --> 00:19:12,560 Speaker 4: a certain direction, then I'll four point the sidewalk in 286 00:19:12,600 --> 00:19:17,240 Speaker 4: the street where he fled, and we're narrowing those geographical 287 00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:21,760 Speaker 4: boundaries the geo fence so as not to overlap houses 288 00:19:21,800 --> 00:19:24,199 Speaker 4: of people who are uninvolved. We're looking just for that 289 00:19:24,320 --> 00:19:26,119 Speaker 4: area where the suspect was. 290 00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:30,840 Speaker 1: So you go to Google with this information within this 291 00:19:31,119 --> 00:19:33,200 Speaker 1: geo fence, where does it go from there? 292 00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:37,159 Speaker 4: When they return the information to us, they identified the 293 00:19:37,240 --> 00:19:42,879 Speaker 4: devices through an anonymized alphanumeric code. It's very long and 294 00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:47,679 Speaker 4: it contains absolutely zero identifying information about the account holder. 295 00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:50,760 Speaker 4: And this is to protect the privacy of those devices 296 00:19:50,800 --> 00:19:54,520 Speaker 4: that will inevitably capture that are uninvolved. So it's upon 297 00:19:54,640 --> 00:19:57,679 Speaker 4: us as detectives to study all the devices that have 298 00:19:57,720 --> 00:20:01,480 Speaker 4: been provided and determine which ones are most likely connected 299 00:20:01,520 --> 00:20:04,800 Speaker 4: to the crime that we're investigating, while filtering out those 300 00:20:04,840 --> 00:20:09,680 Speaker 4: that we believe are uninvolved. At that point, we write 301 00:20:09,720 --> 00:20:15,280 Speaker 4: a second search warrant for further locational data on those 302 00:20:15,320 --> 00:20:20,159 Speaker 4: devices that we believe are most likely involved, and that information, 303 00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:24,440 Speaker 4: when it's returned to us from Google, will show locational 304 00:20:24,520 --> 00:20:28,000 Speaker 4: data for those devices an hour prior to and an 305 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:32,679 Speaker 4: hour after the timeframe set within an original warrant, and 306 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:35,280 Speaker 4: it will give us locational data that falls outside of 307 00:20:35,320 --> 00:20:37,960 Speaker 4: the geo fence, and we can use this to maybe 308 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:42,480 Speaker 4: determine where people go and see if these devices are 309 00:20:42,520 --> 00:20:45,760 Speaker 4: in fact involved in the manner that we originally thought. 310 00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:49,320 Speaker 4: It's further clarifying information, but at that point we still 311 00:20:49,359 --> 00:20:53,760 Speaker 4: have no account information, no identifying information on who the 312 00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:57,000 Speaker 4: actual owner is of that device. It's not until we 313 00:20:57,040 --> 00:20:59,800 Speaker 4: get the data back from that second search warrant and 314 00:20:59,840 --> 00:21:02,560 Speaker 4: we can further narrow down the scope of what we're 315 00:21:02,600 --> 00:21:05,320 Speaker 4: looking for. And then we write a third search warrant, 316 00:21:05,760 --> 00:21:07,800 Speaker 4: and that search warrt is the one where we get 317 00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:13,200 Speaker 4: actual account information, account data, we identify the person who 318 00:21:13,280 --> 00:21:15,560 Speaker 4: is associated to that phone. 319 00:21:15,640 --> 00:21:19,119 Speaker 1: So has access to this kind of information changed the 320 00:21:19,160 --> 00:21:21,840 Speaker 1: way your investigations into crimes work. 321 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:27,160 Speaker 4: Not really. It's for me in particular. As I said before, 322 00:21:27,920 --> 00:21:30,400 Speaker 4: I haven't had a ton of luck with it. It's 323 00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:33,600 Speaker 4: another tool on our toolkit, and it's a welcome one, 324 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:36,560 Speaker 4: but it doesn't change the fundamentals really of how we 325 00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:39,840 Speaker 4: proceed with our investigations. It just gives us another avenue 326 00:21:39,880 --> 00:21:43,080 Speaker 4: to turn to when we're coming up dry on more 327 00:21:43,119 --> 00:21:47,920 Speaker 4: traditional investigative techniques. We want to use it as kind 328 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:52,800 Speaker 4: of a measure of last resort. There's other quicker avenues 329 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:55,800 Speaker 4: of investigation that can be taken at the beginning, and 330 00:21:55,840 --> 00:21:58,920 Speaker 4: we want to go through and exhaust those first. We're 331 00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:02,440 Speaker 4: not necessarily wanted to jump onto the geofense warrant right 332 00:22:02,480 --> 00:22:06,720 Speaker 4: away when we could produce a suspect through other methods 333 00:22:06,760 --> 00:22:09,480 Speaker 4: a lot quicker because there is a time delay in 334 00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:14,520 Speaker 4: obtaining this information from Google, processing it, submitting the second warrant, 335 00:22:14,720 --> 00:22:16,520 Speaker 4: waiting it takes a little bit. 336 00:22:17,240 --> 00:22:19,680 Speaker 1: Are there any kind of crimes where you just don't 337 00:22:19,760 --> 00:22:21,280 Speaker 1: use this to afore. 338 00:22:21,840 --> 00:22:26,400 Speaker 4: We've been cautious in how we apply this, making sure 339 00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:29,600 Speaker 4: that we use it for serious crimes only. We would 340 00:22:29,720 --> 00:22:33,600 Speaker 4: not want to be using this for misdemeanor crimes, lower 341 00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:37,680 Speaker 4: level offenses. You know, we're looking at felony crimes. We're 342 00:22:37,680 --> 00:22:41,879 Speaker 4: looking at part one crimes, which are going to be burglaries, arsons, 343 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:47,560 Speaker 4: sex assaults, armed robberies, murders, the serious crimes. That's when 344 00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:50,119 Speaker 4: we're going to use an investigative technique like this. 345 00:22:52,480 --> 00:22:55,000 Speaker 1: You talked a lot about how Google takes all these 346 00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:58,680 Speaker 1: measures to animize the data. But as someone who's used 347 00:22:58,680 --> 00:23:02,000 Speaker 1: this and seen it used, do you have privacy concerns 348 00:23:02,040 --> 00:23:04,040 Speaker 1: about this to a certain extent? 349 00:23:04,080 --> 00:23:07,359 Speaker 4: I do you know my personal beliefs, Hue towards a 350 00:23:07,359 --> 00:23:10,760 Speaker 4: certain amount of privacy of the individual is very important 351 00:23:10,760 --> 00:23:13,880 Speaker 4: to me. I take it very seriously, and so when 352 00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:19,000 Speaker 4: the courts have privacy concerns, I take those seriously. It's 353 00:23:19,040 --> 00:23:22,879 Speaker 4: reassuring to me that the information that comes back to 354 00:23:22,960 --> 00:23:26,880 Speaker 4: us from Google, it's anonymized and it doesn't contain any 355 00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:31,680 Speaker 4: personal information whatsoever about the person whose device it is 356 00:23:32,080 --> 00:23:36,720 Speaker 4: that we've captured in this geofence. Even more to the point, 357 00:23:37,040 --> 00:23:40,720 Speaker 4: the anonymized ideas that they assign to these devices is 358 00:23:40,760 --> 00:23:44,480 Speaker 4: only good for ninety days and then it's deleted and 359 00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:49,040 Speaker 4: there's no record of it. The pace at which technology advances, 360 00:23:49,480 --> 00:23:52,040 Speaker 4: the courts can't keep up with it, and so it's 361 00:23:52,160 --> 00:23:54,919 Speaker 4: upon us to make sure that we're doing all that 362 00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:58,239 Speaker 4: we can to minimize those issues. And I think in 363 00:23:58,240 --> 00:24:02,520 Speaker 4: this regard the search warrants and the way Google disseminates 364 00:24:02,520 --> 00:24:04,639 Speaker 4: that data, I think it's done a really good job 365 00:24:05,200 --> 00:24:09,639 Speaker 4: of protecting the privacy of individuals in regards to this 366 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:10,959 Speaker 4: investigative technique. 367 00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:14,800 Speaker 1: Detective, appreciate your time, thanks for giving us this inside view. 368 00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:16,960 Speaker 4: Thank you very much for having me on. 369 00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:21,320 Speaker 1: When we come back Bloomberg's Julia Love and Davey Alba 370 00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:24,880 Speaker 1: tell us about the pushback in some places against the 371 00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:37,400 Speaker 1: use of these warrants. Julia, do we have any idea 372 00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:41,119 Speaker 1: about whether this works. Does all this information in this 373 00:24:41,280 --> 00:24:44,760 Speaker 1: very complicated system lead to crimes being solved at a 374 00:24:44,840 --> 00:24:45,400 Speaker 1: higher rate. 375 00:24:46,160 --> 00:24:51,320 Speaker 3: We have certainly heard success stories, but we also found 376 00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:56,159 Speaker 3: many tases where this information did not pan out for 377 00:24:56,280 --> 00:25:01,880 Speaker 3: law enforcement. With the taste of that stolen purse in Scottsdale, Arizona, 378 00:25:02,080 --> 00:25:05,800 Speaker 3: the detective told me that he decided not to proceed 379 00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:08,639 Speaker 3: because he didn't think that this tool was going to 380 00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:09,600 Speaker 3: pan out for him. 381 00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:15,120 Speaker 2: We've talked to a police officer who said that they 382 00:25:15,280 --> 00:25:18,640 Speaker 2: were able to identify two suspects in a murder at 383 00:25:18,640 --> 00:25:19,720 Speaker 2: a local park. 384 00:25:20,119 --> 00:25:23,160 Speaker 3: We spoke with one detective in Arizona who told us 385 00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:28,679 Speaker 3: about a victory that his colleague had with these geofence warrants, 386 00:25:28,760 --> 00:25:33,320 Speaker 3: and it was a case of catalytic converter theft in 387 00:25:33,520 --> 00:25:37,440 Speaker 3: a parking structure and using a geofence warrant. They were 388 00:25:37,480 --> 00:25:41,359 Speaker 3: able to find a device that was present near the 389 00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:44,679 Speaker 3: power box at the exact moment that the power was 390 00:25:44,760 --> 00:25:46,840 Speaker 3: shut off in the parking structure. 391 00:25:48,640 --> 00:25:51,240 Speaker 1: Davy, We talked earlier about how a lot of people's 392 00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:54,320 Speaker 1: data can wind up in one of these warrants and 393 00:25:54,440 --> 00:25:58,399 Speaker 1: these requests for information. Have they ever led to people 394 00:25:58,440 --> 00:26:00,000 Speaker 1: being wrongfully arrested? 395 00:26:01,040 --> 00:26:04,760 Speaker 2: Yes, we do know of at least one crime from 396 00:26:04,840 --> 00:26:09,400 Speaker 2: twenty eighteen where a man in Arizona was wrongly arrested 397 00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:14,080 Speaker 2: for murder based on the location of his phone. What 398 00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:19,159 Speaker 2: actually happened in that case was the man had left 399 00:26:19,160 --> 00:26:24,080 Speaker 2: his phone in a vehicle that a friend took, and 400 00:26:24,119 --> 00:26:27,000 Speaker 2: then the fact that the phone was in the car 401 00:26:27,440 --> 00:26:31,720 Speaker 2: sort of pinpointed him as a possible suspect. But he 402 00:26:31,840 --> 00:26:34,720 Speaker 2: actually was not present in that case, and he was 403 00:26:35,080 --> 00:26:37,080 Speaker 2: wrongly accused and arrested. 404 00:26:37,840 --> 00:26:39,399 Speaker 1: And what happened in that case. 405 00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:43,000 Speaker 3: Police ultimately arrested another suspect. 406 00:26:42,560 --> 00:26:47,040 Speaker 1: And he was ultimately cleared of charges. Yes, Davy, Is 407 00:26:47,080 --> 00:26:49,719 Speaker 1: anyone pushing back against these kinds of warrants saying that 408 00:26:50,200 --> 00:26:53,119 Speaker 1: Google shouldn't have the handover users data if the police 409 00:26:53,160 --> 00:26:53,600 Speaker 1: asked for it. 410 00:26:54,680 --> 00:26:59,959 Speaker 2: Yeah, we have spoken to law professors and privacy advocates. 411 00:27:00,040 --> 00:27:06,879 Speaker 2: It's who say that this practice is incredibly invasive and 412 00:27:07,119 --> 00:27:11,520 Speaker 2: that Google should not have this data in the first place. 413 00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:18,639 Speaker 3: There's an important legal battle happening in Colorado. A group 414 00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:23,879 Speaker 3: of teenagers were charged with murder for an arson case 415 00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:27,520 Speaker 3: that happened there a few years ago. The police found 416 00:27:27,600 --> 00:27:32,679 Speaker 3: them through Doodle's search data for people who searched the 417 00:27:32,760 --> 00:27:36,399 Speaker 3: address of the house around the time of the fire. 418 00:27:37,320 --> 00:27:41,600 Speaker 3: But one of the defendant's lawyers are arguing that this 419 00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:48,080 Speaker 3: was an illegal search, and so that is posing the 420 00:27:48,119 --> 00:27:53,359 Speaker 3: first known challenge to the validity of this technique in 421 00:27:53,400 --> 00:27:53,920 Speaker 3: the country. 422 00:27:55,880 --> 00:27:59,000 Speaker 1: Davey, as you continue to report this story, what are 423 00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:01,000 Speaker 1: you looking for? Where do you think it goes from here? 424 00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:07,560 Speaker 2: I think that we will see more scrutiny on these practices, 425 00:28:08,280 --> 00:28:12,520 Speaker 2: and we may see more public outcry from folks who 426 00:28:12,520 --> 00:28:17,760 Speaker 2: are concerned that they could get ensnared in these warrants. 427 00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:23,560 Speaker 2: You know, there is that question of how the public 428 00:28:23,560 --> 00:28:28,879 Speaker 2: will react to the increased practice of using warrants to 429 00:28:29,560 --> 00:28:34,359 Speaker 2: locate suspects. I think there's a question about how the 430 00:28:34,440 --> 00:28:39,440 Speaker 2: law will evolve to include the fact that this is 431 00:28:39,480 --> 00:28:44,080 Speaker 2: now possible so, for instance, in the case of wire tapping, 432 00:28:44,840 --> 00:28:47,880 Speaker 2: that is a police technique that can only be used 433 00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:52,760 Speaker 2: for very serious cases like kidnapping, murder, drug trafficking, and 434 00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:56,560 Speaker 2: the like. But there's still no federal law that exists 435 00:28:57,240 --> 00:29:02,080 Speaker 2: for regulating this kind of technique where cops can go 436 00:29:02,120 --> 00:29:05,520 Speaker 2: to Google for location and search data, so it'll be 437 00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:08,280 Speaker 2: interesting to see how that evolves. 438 00:29:09,360 --> 00:29:12,680 Speaker 1: Davey Julia, thanks so much for coming on the show. 439 00:29:13,040 --> 00:29:14,840 Speaker 2: Thanks for having us. It was a pleasure. 440 00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:15,800 Speaker 4: Thank you. 441 00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:18,840 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to us here at The Big Take. 442 00:29:18,960 --> 00:29:21,960 Speaker 1: It's a daily podcast from Bloomberg and iHeartRadio. For more 443 00:29:21,960 --> 00:29:25,960 Speaker 1: shows from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or 444 00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:28,400 Speaker 1: wherever you listen, and we'd love to hear from you. 445 00:29:28,640 --> 00:29:31,960 Speaker 1: Email us questions or comments to Big Take at Bloomberg 446 00:29:32,040 --> 00:29:35,640 Speaker 1: dot nem. The supervising producer of The Big Take is 447 00:29:35,720 --> 00:29:39,920 Speaker 1: Vicky Bergolina. Our senior producer is Katherine Fink. This episode 448 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:44,000 Speaker 1: was produced by Sam Gabauer and Christine Driscoll. Rafieol mcili 449 00:29:44,120 --> 00:29:47,640 Speaker 1: is our engineer. Our original music was composed by Leo Sidron. 450 00:29:48,040 --> 00:29:51,080 Speaker 1: I'm west Kasova. We'll be back on Monday with another 451 00:29:51,120 --> 00:29:52,840 Speaker 1: Big Take. Have a great weekend,