The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is not long—only 54 words, in total. But its core premise can be summed up with a simple phrase: Come back with a warrant.
The Fourth Amendment protects people "against unreasonable searches and seizures." Any law enforcement operative hoping to search or seize your "persons, houses, papers, [or] effects" must get a warrant, showing "probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
But in recent years, as Americans began storing larger portions of their personal information online, governments started buying this data, circumventing the Fourth Amendment's guarantees of protection. This week, Montana became the first state to restrict the practice.
