A bipartisan group of Minnesota lawmakers has introduced a bill to ban reverse location warrants that allow police to collect data from cellphones and devices near a crime scene. The Senate bill, sponsored by Democrat Erin Maye Quade along with Democrat Omar Fateh and Republican Eric Lucero, seeks to prohibit these warrants in most cases except emergencies, citing concerns over Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches.
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Reverse location warrants, also known as geofence or dragnet warrants, enable law enforcement to obtain data on all devices within a specific area and timeframe, potentially including thousands of people unrelated to a crime. Critics argue this practice is too broad and invades individual privacy rights. The bill would also grant individuals whose data is collected without cause the right to sue law enforcement agencies.
The legislation was first discussed in the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee on March 9, with a companion bill being reviewed in the House Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee. The proposal emerges amid an ongoing U.S. Supreme Court case scheduled for April, which will consider the constitutionality of reverse location warrants nationwide.
Between 2018 and 2020, Minnesota saw an increase in the use of reverse location warrants from 22 to 173. Despite concerns, law enforcement organizations such as the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension argue these warrants are critical for solving serious crimes. BCA Superintendent Drew Evans stated that banning reverse location warrants would harm public safety but expressed openness to negotiating privacy safeguards.
The bill also aims to ban warrants targeting devices based on specific keyword, phrase, or website searches, as well as data collection involving GPS coordinates, cell tower, and Wi-Fi connections.
Senator Eric Lucero emphasized that the bill is intended to uphold constitutional principles, particularly Fourth Amendment protections requiring warrants to specify the targeted place and persons or objects, which reverse location warrants arguably violate.
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