Cellphone Privacy Bill Unanimously Passes Senate

In a 36-0 vote, the Connecticut state Senate passed H.B. 5640, “An Act Concerning Compelled Disclosure of Cellular and Telephone Records,” last night. The bill would require police to demonstrate evidence that a person has committed or will commit a crime in order to receive a court order to track someone’s cellphone information, require police to obtain permission before using “stingrays” (devices that act like cellular towers in order to track phones within certain areas), and require police to notify people by mail that they have been tracked. The bill previously passed the House of Representatives on a 140-0 vote and now awaits action by Governor Dannel Malloy. The following is a statement from David McGuire, Legislative and Policy Director and Interim Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut, regarding last night’s vote:

“It is hard to imagine a space that contains more personal information than our cellphones, and police should not be able to access them without court permission. It is critical for our laws to uphold liberty, justice, privacy, and freedom from baseless searches, while also keeping up with advances in technology. The ACLU of Connecticut is glad to see that the legislature took up the call to do just that.”