Approximately every seven seconds, the cell phone you carry pings the nearest cell phone tower to give you the best cellular service. These pings are recorded by your telecommunications provider, and allow your location to be pinpointed within fifty meters (ten meters if your GPS is on). This information paints a complete picture of your life, and is currently available to law enforcement at their request. In 2013, the General Assembly made it even easier for telecommunications companies to share cell phone location information with any entity, for any reason. The ACLU testified before the House Judiciary committee in February, in support of legislation regulating the collection of cell phone location information by law enforcement. This legislation would have required law enforcement to obtain a warrant before requesting location information, except in emergencies dealing with the threat of death or serious physical injury. The ACLU testified before the Senate Judiciary committee in April, in support of a companion bill. In 2012, similar legislation was overwhelmingly approved before being unexpectedly vetoed by Governor Chafee; this year, the bills failed to move out of committee.

Sponsors

Representative Edie Ajello and Senator Donna Nesselbush

Status

Died

Session

2015

Bill number

Position

Support