Yesterday, Maine's new cell phone privacy laws went into effect. Under the new law, if the government wants to get the location information generated by your cell phone, they must first go before a judge and give a good reason. This is an importand update to our cell phone privacy laws - which were written in 1986!
The new law protects both real-time location information - the live GPS tracker on your phone - and historic location information - for example, the records of when your phone sent a signal to the closest cell tower. Until yesterday, law enforcement could basically call up your wireless provider and demand that they turn over all the historical data associated with your phone. With that information, the government would be able to create a detailed and accurate map of everywhere you have been since you've had your cell phone.
We choose to live in a society that values privacy. That means the government should not be tracking your every move unless you've done something wrong. And now, they can't.