The court argued users have no "reasonable expectation of privacy" because tech companies routinely collect and sell data.
The decision stemmed from a rape investigation where police used a "reverse keyword warrant" to identify a suspect.
Legal experts warn the ruling treats private thoughts as public data and sets a dangerous national precedent.
The logic suggests opting out of surveillance requires abstaining from essential modern internet use.
In a ruling that privacy advocates warn fundamentally reshapes the boundaries of government surveillance, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court declared Tuesday that law enforcement does not need a warrant to access an individual’s Google search history. The decision, which originated from a 2025 rape investigation in Pennsylvania, concluded that internet users cannot reasonably expect privacy for their online queries because data collection by corporations is now commonplace. By equating corporate data harvesting with a public surrender of constitutional rights, the court has granted police a powerful new tool to probe the private thoughts of citizens, setting a precedent that threatens to chill free inquiry and expand the surveillance state....<<<Read More>>>...
