Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/17pdf/16-402_h315.pdf
Page Number: 93

22 

CARPENTER v. UNITED STATES 

ALITO, J., dissenting 

property.

Nor  does  the  Telecommunications  Act  give  Carpenter  a
property right in the cell-site records simply because they 
are subject  to confidentiality restrictions.  See 47 U. S. C. 
§222(c)(1) (without a customer’s  permission,  a cell service 
provider  may  generally  “use,  disclose,  or  permit  access  to 
individually  identifiable  [cell-site  records]”  only  with
respect  to  “its  provision”  of  telecommunications  services).
Many  federal  statutes  impose  similar  restrictions  on 
private  entities’  use  or  dissemination  of  information  in
their  own  records  without  conferring  a  property  right  on
third parties.4 

—————— 

4 See,  e.g.,  Family  Educational  Rights  and  Privacy  Act,  20  U. S. C. 
§1232g(b)(1)  (“No  funds  shall  be  made  available  under  any  applicable
program to any educational agency or institution which has a policy or 
practice  of  permitting  the  release  of  education  records  (or  personally 
identifiable  information  contained  therein  other  than  directory  infor-
mation . . . ) of students without the written consent of their parents to 
any  individual,  agency,  or  organization  . . .”);  Video  Privacy  Protection 
Act,  18  U. S. C.  §2710(b)(1)  (“A  video  tape  service  provider  who  know-
ingly  discloses,  to  any  person,  personally  identifiable  information 
concerning  any  consumer  of  such  provider  shall  be  liable  to  the  ag-
grieved person for the relief provided in subsection (d)”); Driver Privacy 
Protection  Act,  18  U. S. C.  §2721(a)(1)  (“A  State  department  of  motor
vehicles,  and  any  officer,  employee,  or  contractor  thereof,  shall  not 
knowingly disclose or otherwise make available to any person or entity 
. . .  personal  information  . . .”);  Fair  Credit  Reporting  Act,  15  U. S. C. 
§1681b(a)  (“[A]ny  consumer  reporting  agency  may  furnish  a  consumer
report  under  the  following  circumstances  and  no  other  . . .”);  Right  to 
Financial Privacy Act, 12 U. S. C. §3403(a) (“No financial institution, or
officer,  employees,  or  agent  of  a  financial  institution,  may  provide  to 
any  Government  authority  access  to  or  copies  of,  or  the  information 
contained in, the financial records of any customer except in accordance
with  the  provisions  of  this  chapter”);  Patient  Safety  and  Quality  Im-
provement  Act,  42  U. S. C.  §299b–22(b)  (“Notwithstanding  any  other 
provision of Federal, State, or local law, and subject to subsection (c) of 
this section, patient safety work product shall be confidential and shall
not be disclosed”); Cable Act, 47 U. S. C. §551(c)(1) (“[A] cable operator
shall  not  disclose  personally  identifiable  information  concerning  any
subscriber  without  the  prior  written  or  electronic  consent  of  the  sub-