‘Probable Cause’ a High Standard for Geolocation Information Collection, Say Law Enforcement Groups
Law enforcement officials agreed on the need for standards on how location information can be collected, but said at a Capitol Hill hearing Thursday that a “probable cause” standard in a measure that Congress is considering would hinder their ability to apprehend murderers and rapists. But civil liberties and industry groups supported the Geolocational Privacy and Surveillance Act (HR-2168) at the hearing of the House Crime Subcommittee, citing geolocation privacy as a civil liberties imperative. The bill by Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, sets circumstances under which geolocation information can be obtained by law enforcement and other entities.
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Stressing the need for standards that Congress must set for obtaining location information, Chaffetz said there seems to be “great inconsistency and confusion in light of not just” the Supreme Court ruling in the Jones case but also from input from law enforcement agencies and prosecutors about “where the line” should be drawn in collecting location information. While in Lincoln, Neb., GPS location data can be obtained without demonstrating probable cause, Wichita, Kan., does require a showing of probable cause to obtain this information, he said. “Don’t we need legislation” by Congress to clarify the position? he asked.
John Ramsey, vice president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, agreed there’s need for clarification but said HR-2168 as it’s written is “overly broad and can be narrowly focused” so it doesn’t hinder law enforcement. There’s no evidence from “court cases out there that there has been pervasive abuse” by law enforcement of the ability to obtain location information, said Joseph Cassilly, state’s attorney for Harford County, Md., and former president of the National District Attorneys Association. “Probable cause is a high standard” for obtaining this information, he said.
Besides being a civil liberties “imperative,” geolocation privacy is also an important “business interest,” said Edward Black, president of the Computer & Communications Industry Association. Mobile penetration has grown at an “incredible rate” and decreasing the trust that people have in their devices would have an impact on how people interact in society and business, he said. The ACLU supports the bill because it would ensure that “law enforcement agents obtain a warrant for geolocation information, subject to certain reasonable exceptions,” said Catherine Crump, ACLU staff attorney.