In a 4-3 decision, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled police may conduct limited searches of suspects’ cell phones without getting search warrants if they follow strict rules. In this Privacy Tracker post, nNovation’s Shaun Brown examines the ruling. “When is it okay for the police to conduct a warrantless search of a cell phone when making an arrest? The short answer, according to the Supreme Court’s decision in R. v. Fearon, is ‘sometimes,’” he writes. Beyond that point, Brown writes, “I’m really only sure about a couple of things. First, there is no reason to worry that the police are about to start searching everyone’s mobile device. Second, the law can be incomprehensible and impractical at times.” (Registration may be required to access this story.)
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