Senators push Department of Homeland Security to get warrants for cellphone spying

The bipartisan leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee want to expand the government’s commitment to obtaining a warrant before using controversial spying devices that pick up information from people’s cellphones. Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-VT) asked Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson to follow the Justice Department’s lead and commit to getting a warrant before using the “StingRay” devices. If successful, the effort would represent a major victory for privacy advocates who have managed to shine a light on the little-known devices, which otherwise have been employed without a warrant.

“While these devices can be useful tools for identifying the location of a suspect's cell phone or identifying an unknown cell phone, they also present significant privacy concerns because they gather information about the cell phones of many people who are not investigative targets but happen to be in the vicinity,” the Sens wrote in their letter.