A new type of warrant is allowing law enforcement officers to obtain from Google the locations of all cell phones in a given area during a given time window, providing location information on possibly thousands of private citizens as well as perpetrators of crimes.

Police departments in Minnesota have been granted at least 22 “reverse location” warrants since August 2018, part of a growing trend among police departments throughout the country as investigators attempt to tap into new technology to solve crimes quickly and more effectively. However, concerns are being raised by civil rights groups like the American Civil Liberties Union that the scope for those warrants is too broad and jeopardizes the privacy of innocent civilians.