,
6 tweets,
3 min read
Read on Twitter
On March 14 of last year, just after midnight, a man was gunned down outside his home in Arizona. Blurry video showed shots being fired from a white Honda. There were no known witnesses to the crime. Other leads went cold. The police turned to Google. nyti.ms/2KwbxYf
After obtaining a search warrant that required Google to provide info on all devices it recorded near the killing, police arrested Jorge Molina, who drove a white Honda. Police had data tracking his phone to where a man was murdered 9 months earlier. nyti.ms/2KwbxYf 
After he spent nearly a week in jail, the case against Jorge Molina fell apart as investigators learned new information and released him. Last month, the police arrested another man: his mother’s ex-boyfriend, who had sometimes used Jorge’s car. nyti.ms/2KwbxYf
Months after his release, Jorge Molina was having trouble getting back on his feet. After being arrested at work, a Macy’s warehouse, he lost his job. His car was impounded for investigation and then repossessed: nyti.ms/2KwbxYf
This Arizona case demonstrates the promise and perils of a new investigative technique tapping Google’s Sensorvault database. It can help solve crimes. But it can also snare innocent people. nyti.ms/2GlEB0L
In an era of ubiquitous data gathering by tech companies, this is just one example of how personal information — where you go, who your friends are, what you read, eat and watch, and when you do it — is being used for purposes many people never expected. nyti.ms/2KwbxYf
