Telcos Oppose Bill To Respect 4th Amendment

Fluffeh writes "CTIA (The mobile operators' industry association) is opposing a California law proposing that a court order be required prior to disclosing personal information. The law seems to be in opposition to the federal government's attempts to wash away the last requirements to get at any information about citizens, but CTIA claims (PDF) '... the wireless industry opposes SB 1434 as it could create greater confusion for wireless providers when responding to legitimate law enforcement requests.' The EFF and the ACLU have been arguing strongly for the bill which is to be voted on shortly." A charming quote from CTIA: "For example, the definition of 'location information' is so sweeping that it could implicate information generally considered basic subscriber information under federal law. Since the implications of this definition are unclear, wireless providers will have difficulty figuring out how to respond to requests for such information. It could place providers in the position of requiring warrants for all law enforcement requests."

Comments

Re:And that is a bad thing because???

[jklovanc]

Here is the pertinent part of the law that covers this issue;

(3) Pursuant to a request by a government entity that asserts that
the government entity reasonably believes that an emergency
involving immediate danger of death or serious physical injury to the
owner or user requires the immediate access to location information
and there is insufficient time to obtain a warrant. The government
entity seeking the location information pursuant to this paragraph
shall file with the appropriate court a written statement setting
forth the facts giving rise to the emergency no later than 48 hours
after seeking disclosure.

In emergency situations the government entity does not need a warrant but must document the emergency in court papers within 48 hours.