Textalyzer: Balancing safety and privacy?

A new tool has been introduced by Cellebrite to combat distracted driving, the Textalyzer.

The purpose of the Textalyzer as stated on Cellebrite’s website is to “help law enforcement prove that a driver was using their mobile phone while driving, and could have been a factor in an accident.”

Though a novel invention there are many privacy concerns surrounding the use of the device by law enforcement. Most notably, how the data is extracted and stored. Cellebrite states that the Textalyzer “only identifies a user’s activity and what type of activity was performed when.” However, no further information is provided on how the user’s activity is identified and whether there is an element embedded in the device that allows it to only gather the required data and block any further data that is not relevant to the activity from being gathered.  This can be the personal information that is used in the activity.

There is also the question of the law surrounding the device, such as will the practice of the device be used equally among all suspected distracted drivers? Racial profiling is an issue that law enforcement and society are working to combat, and it’s important to ensure that the use of the Textalyzer does not act as a tool to engage in further racial profiling in roadside scans on suspected distracted driver’s cellphones. Furthermore, using such a device also raises the legal question of whether scanning a suspected distracted driver’s cellphone constitutes a search and there is a possibility that a search without a warrant can lead to a fishing expedition.

There are many legal and privacy questions unanswered regarding the Textalyzer. Further information is necessary to know what the scope of the Textalyzer scan is, how the data obtained is stored, and what data the police can access even if it is not within the scope of the distracted driving investigation.

There is also uncertainty about the accuracy of the device, how successful it will be in curbing distracted driving incidents. With many unanswered questions, law enforcement should be wary of the device before implementing it in their practice. There should be oversight over the execution of the device to ensure it is used accurately and without infringing on any privacy and civil rights, while working to achieve its intended objective, curbing distracted driving.