---
title: "To Do: Disallow Warrantless Digital Car Searches"
summary: |-
  Congress should require law enforcement to obtain a warrant before they can access data from a vehicle.
date: "2018-02-25"
issues: ["Privacy"]
content_type: "Knowledge Base Articles"
canonical_url: "https://itif.org/publications/2018/02/25/to-do-disallow-warrantless-digital-car-searches/"
---

# To Do: Disallow Warrantless Digital Car Searches

# Recommendation

Congress should close the loophole allowing warrantless digital car searches.

# Details

Most Americans expect the Fourth Amendment—which protects individuals from illegal searches—to extend to their digital lives. However, there has been a long-standing exception for vehicles: Law enforcement officials can stop and search a vehicle based on probable cause without having to get a warrant from a judge. As “connected cars” become increasingly linked to people’s digital identities, there is a risk that police will use this exception to conduct digital searches without warrants. Congress should prevent this by requiring law enforcement to obtain a warrant before they can access data from a vehicle. In doing so, Congress should maintain the vehicle exception for physical searches and also maintain law enforcement’s access to data held by third parties, such as automakers or wireless providers, through warrants or other lawful processes.

**Keep reading:**

- Daniel Castro and Alan McQuinn, “Congress Should Close the Loophole Allowing Warrantless Digital Car Searches,” TechCrunch, February 25, 2018, [https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/25/congress-should-close-the-loophole-allowing-warrantless-digital-car-searches/](https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/25/congress-should-close-the-loophole-allowing-warrantless-digital-car-searches/).

---
*Source: Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF)*
*URL: https://itif.org/publications/2018/02/25/to-do-disallow-warrantless-digital-car-searches/*