The Minnesota House unanimously sided with the protections guaranteed in the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution when they passed a bill 120-0 that makes it illegal for authorities to track a person’s cell phone without judge approval and individual notification.
The bill sought to set clearer definitions as to when authorities can track a person’s cell phone location data. Sometimes tracking can prove beneficial in criminal investigations, but unknowingly hacking into someone’s personal data is a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures.
Rep. Joe Atkins, DFL-Inver Grove Heights, said the added protections will make sure those with the power to collect cell phone data won’t do it without first going through the proper channels.
“When you talk about tracking someone’s cell phone, it can tell about who you are, who you associate with, who your physician is, where you go to church or synagogue or mosque,” Atkins said. “It can tell who your friends are. It can tell whether you go to a family counselor, whether you have a defense lawyer.”
Dual Notification
Under the new law, investigators first need to obtain a proper warrant from a judge. Once consent is given by a judge, authorities may begin tracking an individual’s cell phone location. After they have collected enough information for their investigation, authorities must notify the individual that their information was being collected.
The Minnesota Senate approved a similar bill a week prior. The bills will be reworked into a final compromised version during a committee session.
Mel Welch comments
Minnesota has a long history of providing greater protection to its citizenry under the Minnesota Constitution than does the federal government under the U.S. Constitution. This is another example of that mentality and allocation of autonomy in keeping with the Minnesota tradition and we ought to praise the House for its efforts here.
I continue to believe that freedoms are best protected by allowing for the greatest autonomy of the individual – however, the individual must always expend efforts to preserve those protections. It was Edmund Burke who stated it best, “those who fail to impose discipline from within shall have it imposed from without.” Let us be assiduous in protecting our freedoms through responsible living.
Related source: MPR News
