Stingray 101: How Law Enforcement Agencies And, Perhaps, Anyone Else, Can And Do Intercept Cell Phone Calls

[Commentary] Cell-site simulators, often (if not entirely accurately) referred to as “Stingrays,” pose important legal and policy issues for a democratic society, especially in light of evidence that these devices have disproportionately been used to target communities of color. There is bipartisan concern about the serious Fourth Amendment questions surrounding their use, as exemplified by a staff report recently issued on behalf of the Republican Chair and Democratic Ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. This post deals with a different question: whether use of CS simulators by state and local authorities also violates the Communications Act.
[Andrew Jay Schwartzman is the Benton Senior Counselor at the Public Interest Communications Law Project at Georgetown University Law Center's Institute for Public Representation]