Prof. McGeveran Comments on Warrant Seeking Google Searches

Professor William McGeveran, an expert in data privacy law, was quoted in a front-page StarTribune story about an unusually broad search warrant served on Google, Inc. by police in Edina, Minnesota. The warrant seeks to identify every Google user who entered the name of an identity theft victim as a search term over a five-week period. McGeveran commented that the warrant was close to "dragnet searches that the Fourth Amendment is designed to prevent" and warned of "police fishing expeditions" that could result from allowing such sweeping warrants. Google has said it will fight the warrant, potentially in court.