With Montana’s Lead, States May Demand Warrants for Cellphone Data

Legislators in Montana recently passed a bill that requires the police to obtain a search warrant, based on probable cause, before they can use a cellphone carrier’s records to establish a suspect’s location.

That kind of “metadata” can be incredibly valuable, as law enforcement agencies discovered long before the rest of us. The cellphones we carry everywhere establish a clear log of our daily travels and can go a long way in telling the story of our lives. In recognition of that fact, the Montana Legislature this spring passed a location information privacy bill, which requires a search warrant for location information recorded by an “electronic device.” There are exceptions to the warrant requirement, including when the cellphone is reported stolen or to respond to a cellphone user’s emergency call. Over a dozen other states have eyed similar measures just this year.