Digital evidence is used in many court cases. Police who are investigating someone for a crime may want to look at their location data from their phone. They may want to read lists of text messages or social media messages. They may want to look at pictures or videos that an individual took, or even see a list of financial transactions.
If the police get the individual’s consent or they get a search warrant for the cellphone, they can often find this information on the device itself. But it is also important to be aware of the third-party doctrine, which can allow them to get that same information from other sources.
Digital evidence may no longer be private
The reason that the police generally cannot search your phone without a search warrant or consent is that you have an expectation of privacy. You do not have to share that information with the police just because they have asked for it.
However, you may have voluntarily given other companies the ability to access the same information. An app could track your location. A social media company could have access to your messages. A cloud storage company could have copies of your photos and videos.
Under the third-party doctrine, you have a reduced expectation of privacy because you turned this data over to someone else. In some cases, this means that the police can go to those other companies and obtain the data without your consent, without a search warrant and without having to unlock or search your physical cellphone.
Legal defense options
This helps to show how the police gather evidence in the modern era. If you are facing criminal allegations, be sure you know exactly what legal defense options you have.