Cell Phone Location Tracking (H 5456A, H 5681, S 0284 as amended)

Following the nationwide revelations that the federal government had obtained millions of cell phone information records from Verizon, the General Assembly failed to protect Rhode Islanders against rampant phone location tracking. Proactive ACLU-drafted legislation (H 5681) sponsored by Representative Edith Ajello would have barred law enforcement from obtaining cell phone location information from telecommunications companies without a warrant except in certain emergency circumstances.  That bill failed to receive a committee vote. On the other hand, a bill expressly permitting telecommunications companies to voluntarily release location information for any reason passed by an overwhelming margin.  Couched inside the “Kelsey Smith Act,” (H 5456A, S 0284 as amended) which requires telecommunications companies to release cell phone location information to law enforcement in certain emergencies, this provision permits the warrantless disclosure of location information at any time.  The ACLU attempted to have the bill amended to remove this dangerous provision while preserving the honorable intent of the bill, but the General Assembly passed the legislation without amendment.