California bill would block cellphone tracking without warrant

Big Brother might get blinders, at least in California. A state senator recently introduced a bill to prohibit government entities from obtaining location information from cellphones without a warrant.

State Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) proposed SB 1434, an amendment to the Penal Code, to clarify the use of this ubiquitous and near-constant data stream in our pockets. “Unfortunately, California’s privacy laws have not kept up with the electronic age, and government agencies are frequently accessing this sensitive information without adequate oversight,” he said in a prepared statement. This follows an audit by the American Civil Liberties Union of the policies and practices of law enforcement agencies around the country. The organization found that, for the majority of those that participated, it's not uncommon for cellphones to be virtually tailed using either the phone's own GPS or cellular triangulation without obtaining a warrant or subpoena.