Proposed Bill in Minnesota Aims to Limit Data Collection Warrants
A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers in Minnesota has put forth a bill aimed at banning warrants that allow law enforcement to gather data on cellphones and other devices situated near a crime scene at a given time.
Democratic State Senator Erin Mae Quaid spearheaded the initiative, with support from fellow Democratic Senator Omar Fateh and Republican Senator Eric Lucero as co-sponsors. The proposed legislation seeks to restrict these warrants in most scenarios and would empower individuals who receive such information during searches to take legal action against law enforcement.
Proponents of the bill argue that such warrants, often called “reverse location” or “geofence” warrants, pose broad risks to Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches. They believe these warrants should only be permissible in emergencies.
Critics emphasize that these warrants enable authorities to harvest data from a multitude of individuals in targeted areas, including attendees at events like protests, which could potentially raise privacy concerns.
During a March 9 hearing, Mae Quaid highlighted the need to strike a balance between safeguarding constitutional rights and ensuring public safety, warning against enlarging the “haystack” that law enforcement must search to find “needles.”
Law enforcement organizations such as the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association have expressed concerns that the legislation is overly broad. Nonetheless, they have indicated a willingness to engage in discussions with lawmakers regarding privacy issues.
In a letter to the legislature, the Minnesota Police Chiefs Association acknowledged the importance of individual privacy but cautioned that the bill, as currently drafted, would eliminate vital investigative tools that have proven essential for addressing serious crimes.
Initial discussions on the bill took place in the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee on March 9, with House members considering a related measure proposed by Democratic Representative Sandra Feist on February 24.
This bill arrives amid ongoing nationwide litigation, with the U.S. Supreme Court set to hear arguments regarding the constitutionality of such warrants in April.
Interestingly, between 2018 and 2020, the number of adverse trespass warrants in Minnesota surged from 22 to 173, suggesting a growing reliance on these methods.
In 2023, Google announced it would cease storing location data in a manner that could be susceptible to warrant requests. By July of last year, the company had erased or transferred all location history to on-device storage.
However, organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have expressed doubts about whether these changes truly suffice in ensuring privacy.
Despite concerns, law enforcement maintains that these warrants are critical for ongoing investigations. Bureau of Criminal Enforcement Superintendent Drew Evans articulated that banning such warrants could negatively impact public safety in Minnesota. He remarked on incidents where reverse location data has played a role in saving lives while also advocating for reasonable measures to protect data privacy.
If enacted, the Senate bill would restrict warrants from collecting information related to specific keywords, phrases, or devices that have accessed websites, as well as GPS coordinates and Wi-Fi connection data.
During the March 9 hearing, Lucero asserted that the bill aligns with constitutional safeguards and should not be misconstrued as an adversarial stance towards law enforcement. He referenced the Fourth Amendment, which guards against unreasonable searches and seizures unless a warrant clearly defines the location or entity involved. “A reverse search warrant contradicts that principle,” he concluded.
