"In April 2024, current and former athletes from the University of Iowa, Iowa State and Ellsworth Community College filed the lawsuit, alleging that state criminal investigators violated their constitutional rights by using geolocation software, without warrants, to track activity on their cellphones from inside the schools' athletic facilities. The investigation resulted in some criminal charges but more so the loss of NCAA eligibility, which ended the college careers of several athletes."
"Agents from Iowa's Department of Public Safety, Division of Criminal Investigation, had access to geolocation software through the Canadian company GeoComply, which tracks users from major online sportsbooks such as DraftKings and FanDuel. The athletes' lawsuit alleged that while search warrants were obtained for their cellphones, those warrants were "invalid and unconstitutional" because the information used to justify them was acquired without a warrant."
"U.S. District Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger wrote in her ruling that the state's search was unconstitutional when applying Fourth Amendment principles, but that DCI investigators had qualified immunity because the plaintiffs' rights had not been clearly established at the time of the probe. "Plaintiffs do not cite to any controlling authority or a robust set of persuasive authority clearly establishing this right, nor could they," Ebinger wrote."
More than 35 current and former Iowa college athletes sued state investigators, alleging warrantless use of GeoComply geolocation software to track sportsbook activity on phones inside athletic facilities. The investigation produced some criminal charges and caused loss of NCAA eligibility for several athletes. Iowa's Department of Public Safety, Division of Criminal Investigation accessed GeoComply data linking users to major sportsbooks such as DraftKings and FanDuel. Plaintiffs contended that cellphone warrants based on that data were invalid and unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger found the search violated Fourth Amendment principles but granted investigators qualified immunity and dismissed the lawsuit.
Read at ESPN.com
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