The U.S. Supreme Court rules that so-called “geofence warrants” are “searches” under the Fourth Amendment, according to reports. Geofence warrants authorize law enforcement to collect location data from mobile devices present in a specified geographic area during a defined period. The Court’s decision treats that type of targeted location-data collection as a search, bringing it under Fourth Amendment requirements. Multiple outlets describe the ruling as a significant victory for privacy and Fourth Amendment advocates, while also noting that the Court does not go further to declare geofence warrants categorically unconstitutional. Instead, the decision clarifies the legal characterization of geofence warrants—requiring courts and investigators to evaluate them through Fourth Amendment standards rather than treating them as outside that framework. The ruling is presented as guidance on how the Fourth Amendment applies to emerging location-tracking technologies, indicating that additional legal scrutiny is required when authorities use geofencing to identify potential suspects from mobile-device location information.