Issue Position: Privacy

Issue Position

Before July 12, 2016, law enforcement access to cell phone information in RI lacked the regulations needed to protect our privacy. My bill addressed this lack, while also including provisions for emergencies--it takes into account both law enforcement's capacity to do its job and citizens' right to privacy.

Every seven seconds our cell phones ping the nearest tower. Each ping results in the automatic recording of the data identifying where we are at that moment. The location information is accurate to within fifty meters. The only way to stop this flow of information is to turn off the phone, and cell providers can store this information indefinitely.

In 2013, a federal inquiry by Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts determined that police requests for cell phone information had doubled over the previous five years. Verizon reported 30,000 requests for cell phone location information in one year, with more than 2,000 of those requests for cell tower dumps. (Dumps are reports of all of the phones that have pinged a tower, with the time and date of the ping.) In the same year, AT&T received more than 100,000 requests for historical or real time location information.

The information reveals a detailed map and timeline of our movements: where we are, what route we took to get there, how long we stay, whether we were there yesterday, who else is or has been with us, and more. Up until July, 2016, the sorts of requirements for search and seizure that pertain to our homes and property were nonexistent when it came to cell phones. That is why I introduced legislation to establish limits to the accessibility of cell phone information. After several years of effort the bill passed both chambers of the General Assembly and was signed into law on July 12, 2016, becoming effective immediately.

This law requires the police to obtain a warrant, except in emergency situations, before requiring the cell provider to turn over information. Judicial oversight provides assurance that the information has been requested for a proper purpose. The law includes a broad of array of situations deemed urgent, therefore allowing exceptions to the warrant requirement so that police can find and protect us in emergencies.

Similarly, automobile license plate-reading equipment can also be used to track our movements. That information should be protected in the same way, with the judicial oversight of the warrant approving a request for specific information and allowing exceptions for emergencies. I look forward to championing this legislation in the 2017 session.

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