Status of Location Privacy Legislation in the States

In the wake of the NSA revelations, there has been an avalanche of state bills requiring law enforcement to obtain a probable cause warrant before tracking an individual’s location in an investigation. Most state legislators know they can’t control the NSA—but they can control their state and local law enforcement, which are engaging in some of the same invasive practices. The trend actually started in the wake of the ACLU’s nationwide public records requests on location tracking and the 2012 U.S. v. Jones decision, when Montana and Maine enacted the first two location tracking laws in the country—the recent revelations have simply increased the momentum.

Working closely with our lobbyists in state capitols around the country, we’ve been tracking this activity and working hard to make sure these privacy-protective bills become law. The chart below shows the current status of state legislation as we understand it. We will keep this chart up-to-date as we receive new information.

Updated 6/30/14

2014 legislation proposed in 11 states and laws enacted in 11 states.

State

Status

Notes

Colorado
Law (2014)
Passed Senate unanimously

Illinois
Law (2014)
Only covers real-time location information. Passed Senate unanimously.

Indiana
Law (2014)
Only covers real-time location information, but also requires a warrant for drone use and for electronic device searches.

Iowa
Law (2014)
Applies only to GPS tracking.

Kansas
Legislature adjourned.
Covers all third-party held data.

Maine
Law (2013)

Maryland
Law (2014)
Only covers real-time location information.

Massachusetts

Also requires a warrant for electronic communications content.

Michigan
Introduced
Legislation focused on the use of StingRays.

Minnesota
Law (2014)

Missouri
Passed the House and Senate; awaiting governor’s action.
Bill amended in the Senate to allow location tracking under a less protective legal standard.

Montana
Law (2013)

New Hampshire
Passed House. Senate Committee referred for interim study (dead for this year)

Ohio
Passed the Senate

Oklahoma
Dead for this year

South Carolina
Passed the House. Legislature adjourned without further action.
Also covers law enforcement access to electronic communications content.

Tennessee
Law (2014)
Amended to undermine all privacy protections in the bill.

Utah
Law (2014)
Also requires a warrant for electronic communications content.

Vermont
Legislature adjourned.

Virginia
Law (2014)
Only covers real-time location information.

West Virginia
Legislature adjourned

Wisconsin
Law (2014)
The bill allows location tracking under a less protective legal standard.