The question, depending on your particular political instincts, may provoke the “duh” response – or it may not. Regardless there is growing concern that the US Federal Government is using Section 215 of the Patriot Act to collect “business records” without probable cause.
The difficulty according to those in the know is the slippery definition of what said records are limited to:
The debate over section 215 has largely focused on library records, but the Patriot Act’s definition of a “business record” extends to any “tangible thing.”
Since 2009 three Senators have been vocal on the record that Section 215 has and will continue to be abused by authorities. We cannot know what those abuses are because those actions are classified.
The reason why the distinction is important is that by treating cell phone records as the property of the cell phone company – i.e. its business records – the government avoids the need to show that any particular customer is suspected of having committed a crime.
The rest of the article provides details on why these suspicions have emerged now. Its pretty scary stuff.
via Are the feds torturing the Patriot Act for location data?.
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