Law enforcement: Phone spying software not capable of collecting content

Officials from the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that cell phone spying technology used by federal law enforcement will not have the software capability to scoop up individuals' actual communications, like texts or pictures.

The devices will not be configured to collect the actual content from people's phones. Justice Department lawyer Elana Tyrangiel said, "The kind of configuration we are talking about — [with] an understanding I am a lawyer and not a technologist — is the software configuration, not an 'on' and 'off' switch where someone could switch it on and off," she added. DHS lawyer Seth Stodder said: "I know for a fact that the cell site simulators that DHS uses do not collect content, and cannot collect content."