Addresses Quote by Raymond Kethledge
“Cell-site data - like mailing addresses, phone numbers, and IP addresses - are information that facilitate personal communications rather than part of the content of those communications themselves. The government's collection of business records containing these data, therefore, is not a search.”
About This Quote
Source Legal Opinion: United States v. Jones, 2012
The data listed are metadata that enable communication, not the communication content, so collecting them isn’t a search under the Fourth Amendment.
In simple terms: Metadata isn’t content, so gathering it isn’t a search.
Key Takeaway
Recognize the legal distinction between content and metadata.
Themes
privacy law
digital rights
government surveillance
Mood
analytical
critical
Type
legal
explanatory
When to use this quote
- law enforcement investigations
- corporate data handling
- privacy compliance
- public policy debates
Key Concepts
metadata
communication infrastructure
fourth amendment
Questions to Reflect On
- How should law balance privacy with investigative needs?
- What safeguards protect against misuse of metadata?
A Different Perspective
The line between privacy and security can blur when metadata reveals personal patterns.
![“[T]he appropriate form of address between man and man ought to be, not monsieur, sir, but fellow sufferer, compagnon de miseres.” quote by Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/be6/arthur-schopenhauer-226_addresses_t-he-appropriate-form-of-address-between_32897.jpg)
