JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Senate judiciary committee is considering a bill subjecting cell phone tracking devices used in investigations by law enforcement agencies to the same legal restrictions applied to phone tapping methods.
Senate Bill 786, sponsored by Sen. Will Kraus (R-Lee’s Summit), would require state and local law enforcement agencies to obtain a warrant in order to use tracking devices known as cell site simulators, often referred to by the brand name StingRay, in any investigation. Protecting citizens from authorities misusing new technologies is the aim of this bill, Kraus said.
“Currently, these devices can be used without a warrant, which I believe is a violation of our Fourth Amendment rights,” Kraus said. “Obviously, I want police to be able to do their jobs, but we need to be sure our civil liberties are protected.”
Cell site simulators are portable devices that temporarily act as a cell tower, receiving information from cell phones and allowing police to pinpoint the exact location of the phone, and individual, they are tracking.
Civil liberties lawyers and judges have raised concerns about whether the use of these devices without a warrant qualifies as an unreasonable search. These concerns have led to the dismissal of at least one Missouri case in the last year, with objections raised in several others. Kraus believes his bill will update statutes to bring the new technology in line with older methods of surveillance.
“There are laws defining how law enforcement has to use surveillance methods, such as phone tapping, that preserve citizens’ due process,” Kraus said. “They have to get a warrant to use those technologies. We should apply that same standard to new surveillance methods police are implementing.”
The bill would provide limited exceptions for emergency situations, such as kidnapping or reported suicide attempts. It would also allow owners of stolen phones to authorize the use of the devices on their own phones.
