Police Use of ‘Keyword Warrants’ to Monitor Americans’ Online Search Queries Comes Under Increasing Scrutiny

A case in Colorado could be the first challenge to the constitutionality of law enforcement’s increasing reliance on warrants that force tech giants to turn over vast swaths of user data.

AP/Ng Han Guan, File
The logo for Google at the China International Import Expo at Shanghai in 2018. AP/Ng Han Guan, File

Should law enforcement have virtually unfettered access to all Americans’ online search histories?

That’s the question before a state district court in Colorado, widely believed to be the first challenge to the constitutionality of the widespread — and growing — use of so-called keyword warrants that compel Google and other custodians of online data to turn that data over to police and other agencies upon request.

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