Should law enforcement be required to obtain a warrant when using cell phone data of U. S. citizens?

Prompted by privacy concerns, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., is circulating draft legislation that would require law enforcement officials to obtain warrants before using data collected from mobile devices for tracking purposes.

If formally proposed as it’s now written, the bill would severely curtail the ability of police to use geolocation information acquired by wireless carriers. Such data is utilized frequently to pinpoint the whereabouts of criminals through items such as cell phones, global positioning systems and computers.

The law includes provisions that would allow usage of mobile data in the case of emergencies, national security concerns and other critical situations. But officials are concerned that making officers acquire a warrant to use geolocation information could cost lives.

“Law enforcement will say, ‘I don’t have time to get a warrant, so I guess we can’t do that,’” Paul Wormeli of the Integrated Justice Information Systems Institute said. “That puts the life of a victim in danger. There are consequences.”


Link:
http://www.govtech.com/geospatial/Law-Enforcement-Cell-Phone-Data-Citizens.html