EPIC – “The Supreme Court ruled today that a warrantless search of a cell phone violates the Fourth Amendment, even when it occurs during a lawful arrest. The Court’s decision in Riley v. California makes clear that “a search of the information on a cell phone bears little resemblance to the type of brief physical search” allowed in the past. The Court said “Cell phones differ in both a quantitative and a qualitative sense from other objects that might be kept on an arrestee’s person.” EPIC, joined by 24 legal scholars and technical experts on the EPIC Advisory Board, filed a friend of the court brief, arguing that cell phones contain a wealth of sensitive personal data, and that officers can reasonably secure phones while they apply for a warrant to search them. EPIC wrote, “Allowing police officers to search a person’s cell phone without a warrant following an arrest would be a substantial infringement on privacy, is unnecessary, and unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment.” The EPIC brief was cited by the Supreme Court in its decision. For more information, see EPIC: Riley v. California.”

• New Republic – The Supreme Court’s Cell Phone Case Went Even Further than Privacy Advocates Had Hoped
• “If you have further questions about your rights during encounters with police officers, both the ACLU and the EFF have created handy “Know Your Rights” pages (here and here, respectively) that dive into many of the main questions citizens have about what they can and cannot legally do when confronted by law enforcement.”