{"id":1412,"date":"2007-12-30T09:24:02","date_gmt":"2007-10-04T09:25:31","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2007-10-04T09:25:31","slug":"en-US","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/fourthamendment.com\/?p=1412","title":{"rendered":"Preliminary injunction denied against NYC TLC rule to install GPS and other receivers in all taxicabs"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NYC Taxi and Limosine Commission adopted a rule for installing text messaging to and GPS in taxicabs. A small group sought to enjoin the rule, and preliminary relief was denied as unlikely to succeed. Alexandre v. New York City Taxi & Limousine Comm’n<\/a>, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 73642 (S.D. N.Y. September 28, 2007):<\/p>\n

This litigation concerns the (impending) implementation of New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission rules requiring the installation in all yellow cabs of new technology which is intended to improve taxi service. Called the Taxicab Technology System or the technology consists of hardware and software which offers four “core services”: (i) credit, debit, and prepaid card payment for cab rides; (ii) text messaging, for example, to cab drivers in an emergency; (iii) automated trip data collection to replace the current manual (hand-written) records; and (iv) data transmission such as trip tracking and other communications by and for passengers. TTS includes the installation of global positioning equipment or “GPS.” (Class Action Complaint for Injunctive Relief and Damages, dated Sept. 19, 2007 (“Compl.”) P 9.)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As to the privacy issues:<\/p>\n

Plaintiffs argue, among other things, that “their fundamental right to privacy guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment [to the United States Constitution] is being violated by the GPS facet of the TTS program, which will enable drivers to be tracked at all times, whether on duty or off, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.” (Pls.’ Mem. at 16.) Defendants counter that TTS Rules “will not create intrusions by the TLC on [P]laintiffs’ operation of their regulated taxicabs beyond what already exists,” and, in any case, “the information collected by the GPS equipment is not private information protected by the Fourth Amendment.” (Defs. Mem. at 11.) Defendants also say that “[a]ny data concerning the location of off-duty taxi operations, or routes taken between trip initiation and termination … cannot be accessed by the TLC and may not be disclosed by the equipment vendors.” (Defs.’ Mem. at 11 (citing Goldstein Decl. P 16).)<\/p>\n

Plaintiffs’ privacy claim is not likely to succeed on the merits. For one thing, practical steps have been taken by the TLC to help maintain the confidentiality of electronic trip data, including inserting a provision in TLC contracts with TTS vendors prohibiting vendors from “giving to any person or entity, which includes the City, the [TLC], or their employees, information about the location of a taxicab while it is off-duty.” (2d Salkin Decl. PP 24-26; see also Goldstein Decl. P 16; Van Meter Decl., Ex. G (Agreement Between City of New York and VeriFone Transportation Systems, Inc.), \u00a7 11.5.)<\/p>\n

Second, and more importantly, while the Fourth Amendment prohibits “unreasonable searches and seizures,” U.S. Const. amend. IV, its applicability “depends on whether the person invoking its protection can claim a ‘justifiable,’ ‘reasonable’ or ‘legitimate expectation of privacy’ that has been invaded by government action.” Smith v. Maryland<\/em><\/a>, 442 U.S. 735, 740 (1979) (citations omitted). Where, as in the taxicab context presented here, there is likely “no legitimate expectation of privacy,” there is also “no search or seizure within the ambit of the Fourth Amendment.” United States v. Moran<\/em>, 349 F. Supp. 2d 425, 467 (N.D.N.Y. 2005) (citing United States v. Knotts<\/em><\/a>, 460 U.S. 276, 285 (1983)). “There is a diminished expectation of privacy in a vehicle because of its availability to public scrutiny.” Id. (citing Knotts<\/em>, 460 U.S. at 281). “A person traveling in an automobile on public thoroughfares has no reasonable expectation of privacy in his movements from one place to another.” Knotts<\/em>, 460 U.S. at 281; see also Turner v. Am. Car Rental, Inc.<\/em>, 884 A.2d 7, 11 (Conn. App. Ct. 2005) (“[T]he plaintiff has not presented us with any authority that equipping a motor vehicle with a global positioning system violates the privacy of the vehicle’s operator.”); People v. Gant<\/em>, 9 Misc. 3d 611, 620, 802 N.Y.S.2d 839, 847 (Westchester County Ct. 2005) (holding that a search warrant was not required prior to installing a GPS device to track the vehicle’s whereabouts because there is no “legitimate expectation of privacy in a vehicle traveling upon … public roadways”).<\/p>\n

Third, a person’s privacy interests are not absolute and “can be overcome by a sufficiently weighty government purpose.” Statharos<\/em>, 198 F.3d at 323. The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit had applied “intermediate level scrutiny” in evaluating regulations analogous to the TLC Rules considered here. Id. at 324 (“Because taxis are an important part of the public life of the City and have a City-granted monopoly on providing a crucial service, the taxi industry is pervasively regulated by the [TLC] … [M]edallion owners’ nominal private status does not sufficiently strengthen their confidentiality interest … so as to make the intermediate scrutiny [test] … inadequate.”). “When legislation burdens constitutionally protected privacy rights, [the Second Circuit] will apply intermediate scrutiny and uphold the statute only if a substantial government interest outweighs the burdened privacy right.” O’Connor v. Pierson<\/em>, 426 F.3d 187, 202-03 (2d Cir. 2005).<\/p>\n

The use of GPS technology in accordance with the TLC Rules appears to outweigh any burdened privacy rights. Defendants require TTS (including GPS features) in medallion taxicabs “to improve taxi service and TLC’s ability to regulate it for the public good by utilizing modern methods.” (Defs. Mem. at 15.) Plaintiffs acknowledge that “‘customer service’ might be a legitimate area of governmental concern.” (Pls. Mem. at 15.) The City of New York (acting through the TLC) has a substantial interest in promoting taxi customer service, taxicab ridership, and passenger and driver safety. See Sugarman v. Vill. of Chester<\/em>, 192 F. Supp. 2d 282, 300 (S.D. N.Y. 2002) (stating local government has “substantial interests in aesthetics, public safety, welfare and property value”); Comm. for Taxi Safety<\/em>, 177 Misc. 2d at 865, 677 N.Y.S. 2d 449, 456-57.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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