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Re:Feds order Google to track people searching certain names... by Consultant32452 on Monday October 25, 2021 @10:25PM (#28995719)
I can imagine a scenario where the warrant is for searches that you would not believe a human would naturally make on their own. I think SCOTUS would allow that.

Scenario: Hello fellow criminals. Instead of point to point communication, we will make random posts/pages that have our combination of words on them. So if you want to read our communication, do a google search for the exact quote "purple antelope shoe couch can squirrel."

Re:Feds order Google to track people searching certain names... by ineedasername on Monday October 25, 2021 @11:11PM (#28995995)
naturally make

Though some of those bomb searches could easily be made by anyone curious about past bombing incidents. I've certainly had some curiousity-based searches about how the Unibomber did his work.

How do we end up defining naturally? That's a question the court would ask, and want to be able to provide a litmus test for going forward. I'm not sure how we do that here... Statistical probability at some specific threshold? It's a difficult question.

Re:Feds order Google to track people searching certain names... by sterlind on Tuesday October 26, 2021 @03:09AM (#28997304)
I'm pretty sure I've searched those terms myself, looking up how high and low explosives are used as detonation lenses in atomic bombs.

I also looked up whether PLA can be made conductive and if it shows up normally in x-rays, to determine if I could legally 3D print the lower receiver for a handgun in my state.

...come to think of it, I wouldn't be surprised if I tripped some queries, and they just realized I'm an insatiably curious but harmless nerd and left me be.

Re:Feds order Google to track people searching certain names... by Consultant32452 on Tuesday October 26, 2021 @08:16AM (#28999427)
Yes, once the very unique search phrase becomes public and lots of random people are searching it, I suspect the court would be less likely to allow such a warrant.
Re:Feds order Google to track people searching certain names... by mikecoles on Wednesday October 27, 2021 @04:58PM (#29019027)
This HN page is #4 at the moment. It hasn't tripped Google Trends yet though.