Do police need a warrant to access location data and other meta information from your cell phone in Texas?
A hearing in the state senate yesterday had conflicting answers that may surprise you. Electronic privacy advocates like Scott Henson say they don't, but he wants a law changing that. Law enforcement officials like Bill Exley, an assistant district attorney with Harris County, says they do have to get a warrant, but he wants to change it so they don't.
Your cell phone can provide a wealth of data to Texas law enforcement. Your calls give location data, and if a smartphone, the data stream that populates your email and text can continue to track your movements.
What is the state of tracking cell phones in Texas?
Guests:
- Rep. Bryan Hughes, (R-Mount Pleasant) sits on the criminal jurisprudence committee in the Texas House. Last legislative session he unsuccessfully tried to get a law passed to provide additional electronic privacy protections and require warrants for this data.
- Scott Henson, member of the Texas Electronic Privacy Coalition and blogs about justice issues at gritsforbreakfast
