Your Daily Privacy & Surveillance Briefing

The Supreme Court Expands Privacy Rights to More Squarely Encompass Your Digital Footprint

• The Supreme Court, in *Chatrie v. United States* (decided June 29, 2026), ruled that police obtaining detailed location data from Google via geofence warrants constitutes a Fourth Amendment search, a significant win for digital privacy. Justice Kagan's majority opinion extended the logic of *Carpenter v. United States* to this more precise form of tracking, affirming that handing information to a tech company for one purpose does not mean handing it to the government for another.

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• UPDATE: The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has withdrawn from its contract with Flock Safety, a company providing AI-powered surveillance systems, on July 14, 2026. This move highlights ongoing concerns about the lack of oversight and potential Fourth Amendment violations associated with these automatic license plate readers, which collect extensive vehicle data regardless of criminal implication.

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• The US House of Representatives passed the "Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act" on June 29, 2026, which is now awaiting Senate review. Critics warn that this legislation, based on the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), could mandate age verification and lead to an expansion of data collection, potentially creating a broader "digital surveillance infrastructure."

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• Three U.S. states implemented new data privacy laws on July 1, 2026, significantly raising compliance expectations. Connecticut's Data Privacy Act (CTDPA) expanded its scope to cover businesses processing data of just 35,000 residents, Arkansas's Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act banned targeted advertising for anyone under 16, and Utah's HB 418 established a new right for consumers to correct inaccurate personal data.

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