FBI Says Search Warrants Not Needed To Use "Stingrays" In Public Places

schwit1 writes The Federal Bureau of Investigation is taking the position that court warrants are not required when deploying cell-site simulators in public places. Nicknamed "stingrays," the devices are decoy cell towers that capture locations and identities of mobile phone users and can intercept calls and texts. The FBI made its position known during private briefings with staff members of Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). In response, the two lawmakers wrote Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security chief Jeh Johnson, maintaining they were "concerned about whether the FBI and other law enforcement agencies have adequately considered the privacy interests" of Americans. According to the letter, which was released last week: "For example, we understand that the FBI's new policy requires FBI agents to obtain a search warrant whenever a cell-site simulator is used as part of a FBI investigation or operation, unless one of several exceptions apply, including (among others): (1) cases that pose an imminent danger to public safety, (2) cases that involve a fugitive, or (3) cases in which the technology is used in public places or other locations at which the FBI deems there is no reasonable expectation of privacy."

Comments

Re:

[lsllll]

Just like the true Stingray can only live under water, these Stingray devices, I've heard, stop at the lawn. The CANNOT, by definition, trespass the space line between the sidewalk and the lawn, so you'd be safe if you were standing on the lawn. They can crawl over concrete, though. So they can go up your driveway and onto your porch, but the threshold into your house/apartment stops them dead in their tracks.

Re:

[d34thm0nk3y]

Just like the true Stingray can only live under water, these Stingray devices, I've heard, stop at the lawn. The CANNOT, by definition, trespass the space line between the sidewalk and the lawn, so you'd be safe if you were standing on the lawn. They can crawl over concrete, though. So they can go up your driveway and onto your porch, but the threshold into your house/apartment stops them dead in their tracks.

This is true, but can be misleading. See, the FBI uses Soccer out-of-bounds rules. So, it's not over the line until the whole-of-the-signal is over the-whole-of-the-line. Unfortunately, due to the wave-form nature of the signal, this means the surveillance is only actually illegal after they have turned the device off.

Re:Expectations of privacy

[wiredlogic]

It's already illegal for anyone to record cell phone conversations without a warrant. They are considered the same as a POTS phone as far as the law is concerned. This extended so far as to ban multi-band radios that could pick up analog cell phones so that you couldn't "wiretap" them. I had one that would catch snippets of conversations in the 80's. Newt Gingrich was stung by this once when he was caught using an analog phone in the 90's. Moreover, these stingray devices are actively impersonating a cell tower, running afoul of all manner of FCC regulations in the process.

Just because you have a badge doesn't mean you can break the law. There is no reason why law enforcement should have special treatment to record without a warrant when nobody else can. "All the power is reserved for the people" and all that jazz.