Minnesota lawmakers propose ban on warrants for device location data near crime scenes
A bipartisan group of Minnesota lawmakers has introduced a bill to ban warrants allowing police to gather data revealing which cellphones and devices were near a crime scene at a specific time.
Senate Democrat Erin Maye Quade, along with Sens. Omar Fateh and Eric Lucero, introduced the legislation, which would also permit individuals to sue law enforcement if their data was unlawfully obtained. The bill emphasizes that such warrants should only be used in emergencies, arguing that broad reverse location warrants, often called “geofence” or “dragnet” warrants, violate Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.
Critics say these warrants enable authorities to collect data on thousands of people in an area, including those attending protests or public events. Maye Quade told a Senate hearing on March 9 that the warrants risk infringing on constitutional rights and create an overly broad “haystack” for law enforcement to search.
Law enforcement groups, including the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, expressed concern that the bill is too restrictive. They suggested they are open to negotiating data privacy safeguards but emphasized that such warrants are valuable tools for solving serious crimes.
The proposed legislation follows discussions in the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee and a similar bill in the House. The debate occurs amid a pending U.S. Supreme Court case in April on the constitutionality of reverse location warrants.
Between 2018 and 2020, Minnesota saw an increase in reverse location warrants from 22 to 173. Google announced in 2023 it would stop storing location data susceptible to such warrants, although groups like the ACLU and Electronic Frontier Foundation remain concerned about ongoing law enforcement use.
Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans highlighted the importance of reverse location data, citing cases where it has saved lives. He said a ban could harm public safety but expressed willingness to work on safeguards to balance privacy and investigative needs.
The Senate bill would prohibit warrants seeking information tied to keywords, phrases, websites, GPS coordinates, or Wi-Fi data. Lucero stated the bill aims to uphold constitutional principles in the digital age, emphasizing that reverse warrants oppose Fourth Amendment protections against broad searches.
The AP contributed to this report.
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