The Federal Government’s Plan to Track Truckers’ Every Movement Is a Privacy Nightmare

The Department of Transportation is considering a disturbing new rule that could force every commercial motor vehicle to install an electronic device that would wirelessly transmit location data and other personal information to police on demand.

By collecting data on each of the 12 million commercial vehicles on the road, the thinking goes, these monitoring devices could help law enforcement focus its inspections on carriers it deems “high risk,” allowing lower-risk vehicles to skip unnecessary inspections.

But truckers already undergo roadside inspections and record large amounts of information for regulators. The Department of Transportation offers no reason to believe the warrantless collection of identifying information will make anyone safer. It might make some inspectors’ jobs easier, but that is no reason to override the rights of truck owners and operators. One might as well call for putting us all in ankle monitors, just because it might reduce crime if the cops know where everyone is all the time.

The Fourth Amendment requires the government to get a warrant before encroaching into private space to gather information. People rightfully expect that their private effects and location data will remain shielded from the authorities, because prolonged tracking can reveal intimate details. The Constitution protects that expectation of privacy by requiring officers to get a warrant based on probable cause before they can gather location data.- READ MORE