Lawmakers finalize measure restricting government's use of GPS data

A bipartisan group of House and Senate lawmakers on Wednesday finalized a bill that prohibits law enforcement officials from tracking the location of people's wireless devices without a warrant or parental consent, or unless an emergency is under way. The finished proposal represents a departure from an earlier version that some safety experts said could bar officers from tracing the location of kidnapped children.

The Geolocational Privacy Surveillance Act, or GPS Act (H.R.2168), co-sponsored by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, aims to clarify when the government can intercept location data emanating from people's mobile devices, including cellphones, Wi-Fi-equipped laptops and car navigation units. Current electronic surveillance laws do not regulate government access to this so-called geolocational information.

"The law in effect is playing catch-up with the technological revolution," Wyden said in a phone call with reporters.

Under the new measure, which also is backed by Virginia Republican Rep. Bob Goodlatte, law enforcement agents would need the same permissions to monitor location information as they currently need to wiretap phone calls.

"I've come around to the judgment that law enforcement benefits from clear rules," like the requirement to read suspects their Miranda rights, Wyden said. "Where there's trouble in these issues, it usually involves confusion, uncertainty. . . You've got the courts now taking a variety of positions" on what procedures officers must follow and how much evidence is necessary to obtain a person's locational data from communications service providers.

He acknowledged that some law enforcement officials who want instant access to as much information about a potential suspect as possible might object to the legislation.

An earlier version of the proposal circulated this spring raised concerns that federal authorities would stop taking advantage of location-tracking all together because the rules were so far-reaching. For instance, the draft offered no exceptions to the rules for tracking lost or abducted children.

The first iteration granted exemptions only for emergencies such as when someone could die or suffer grave injury, conspiratorial activity threatening national security is under way, or there is behavior indicative of organized crime. The final bill unveiled on Wednesday allows law enforcement officials to access location data regarding a child with consent from a parent or guardian.

"I think it was a good idea from the beginning and Goodlatte suggested it," Wyden said. "Parents can give consent for minors," but the bill underscores that "husbands cannot monitor their wives without their wives' consent" -- another Goodlatte addition, Wyden noted.

Wyden said he expects to have Republican support in moving the bill through the Senate.

Chaffetz and Wyden will partner on additional legislation to address other privacy issues dealing with new technologies, such as the intelligence community's use of data collected from mobile apps, he added.