Tennessee authorities may seek what is referred to as a geofence warrant in an effort to solve a crime. This type of warrant involves getting data from Google or other online data collectors to learn more about the case. However, this may mean that you are contacted by police or even charged with a crime on little more than circumstantial evidence.
Avoiding a geofence warrant
While there is no foolproof way to prevent yourself from being the target of a geofence warrant, there are some things that you can do to minimize your risk. First, you can visit the activity controls tab on your Google account settings to turn off the ability for the search engine to track your locations. You may also be able to further customize settings to limit other information it records at any given time. Alternatively, you can delete your location history so that it is less likely to be seen by outside parties.
If you are contacted by police
There isn’t a lot of criminal law precedent for or against geofence warrants. While some believe that they are too broad, there hasn’t been a ruling from a federal court that provides any clarity on the matter. Therefore, you may have little choice but to cooperate with authorities as best you can while saying or doing as little as possible to incriminate yourself.
If you are targeted in an investigation, you have the right to remain silent and the right to counsel. You cannot be charged with additional crimes or otherwise punished for exercising those rights. Depending on the strength of the prosecution’s case against you, not saying anything may prevent authorities from obtaining enough evidence to take your case to trial.