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posted by cmn32480 on Tuesday December 20 2016, @12:09PM   Printer-friendly
from the be-quiet-and-listen-in dept.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

Use of cell-phone spying technology has become widespread among U.S. law enforcement agencies and should be better regulated, according to a new congressional report.

Not only is the FBI deploying the technology, commonly called "Stingray" after one product made by Harris Corp., but so are state and local police. There are concerns that some law enforcement agencies have used Stingrays without securing search warrants, said the report from House Committee on Oversight and Reform, published on Monday.

"Absent proper oversight and safeguards, the domestic use of (Stingrays) may well infringe upon the constitutional rights of citizens to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures," it said.

The report focuses on privacy concerns with the controversial surveillance device, which can intercept a phone's location, along with calls, SMS text messages, and websites visited on the device.

[...] In 2015, both the Justice Department and the DHS issued new policies on the technology, requiring that a search warrant be obtained before a Stingray can be used. Prior to that, the two departments relied on varying policies that didn't always demand probable cause, the committee's report said.

State and local police are also using the technology without a uniform policy. In addition, the Justice Department has learned of "isolated incidents" where private entities may have used Stingrays, a possible violation of U.S. law, the report said.

-- submitted from IRC


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  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by Snotnose on Tuesday December 20 2016, @12:28PM

    by Snotnose (1623) on Tuesday December 20 2016, @12:28PM (#443718)

    It is unconstitutional. Even with a warrant, by sweeping up dozens if not hundreds of people each time they use it it's problematical.

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    Why shouldn't we judge a book by it's cover? It's got the author, title, and a summary of what the book's about.
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  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 20 2016, @01:37PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 20 2016, @01:37PM (#443754)

    I think we need to surround Capital Hill with stingrays. See how they like it.

  • (Score: 2) by tathra on Tuesday December 20 2016, @03:38PM

    by tathra (3367) on Tuesday December 20 2016, @03:38PM (#443828)

    thats what i came here to say. there is no "could be", the damn thing is absolutely unconstitutional and there is no possible way its use could ever be constitutional.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 21 2016, @04:52AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 21 2016, @04:52AM (#444213)

    Everything our gov does these days is unconstitutional.
    And I'm fairly certain our new Orange haired freak show will be doing all sorts of unconstitutional shit in the months ahead.