Justice Department: Agencies need warrants to use cellphone trackers

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The Justice Department unveiled a new policy that will require its law enforcement agencies to obtain a warrant to deploy cellphone-tracking devices in criminal investigations and inform judges when they plan to use them. The department’s new policy, announced by Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates, should increase transparency around the use of the controversial technology by the FBI and other Justice Department agencies.

It imposes the highest legal standard for the device’s use, and a single standard across the department. But the policy does not apply to other departments or overseas investigations by the FBI and other agencies, or state and local agencies, which continue to use the tracking technology, often without expressly informing a judge and obtaining a warrant based on probable cause. “This is a really positive development that makes important strides towards protecting the privacy rights of Americans,” said Nathan Wessler, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union. “It leaves some questions unanswered, but it is a strong improvement over the patchwork of less protective policies we saw before.”


Justice Department: Agencies need warrants to use cellphone trackers Justice Department Announces Enhanced Policy for Use of Cell-Site Simulators (Justice Department) Justice Department tightens cellphone tracking rules (Reuters)