ACLU testifies at privacy hearing at the Minnesota Capitol

January 17, 2014 3:27 pm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Jana Kooren, 651.485.5925 or jkooren@aclu-mn.org

St. Paul, Minn- The American Civil Liberties Union's staff attorney Catherine Crump of the Speech, Privacy and Technology Department testified at a hearing at the Minnesota Capitol on Tuesday, January 28 that discussed citizen surveillance technologies used by government agencies. During the hearing Crump spoke to the privacy risks associated with the use of these new surveillance technologies.

"With the arrival of so many new surveillance technologies that can be used to track our every movement, new legislation is necessary to ensure that Americans' privacy rights are adequately protected," said Catherine Crump, staff attorney for the Speech, Privacy and Technology Department of the ACLU.

At the hearing ACLU advocated privacy measures be put into place in instances when law enforcement uses four specific surveillance technologies:

  1. GPS tracking – Law enforcement has the ability to attach a GPS monitoring device surreptitiously to a vehicle and track its whereabouts. The ACLU believes law enforcement should obtain a warrant based on probable cause before this technology is used.
  2. Automatic license plate readers – These cameras have the ability to record individuals' day to day movements by tracking when they pass certain locations or pass law enforcement vehicles. The ACLU believes that innocent drivers' data should not be stored in a database.
  3. Cell phone location tracking – When turned on, a cell phone can relay its owners' exact location. The ACLU believes law enforcement should obtain a warrant based on probable cause before this technology is used.
  4. Domestic Drones – Drones are capable of high-resolution monitoring and recording of an entire city, including monitoring the movements of discrete vehicles. The ACLU believes law enforcement should obtain a warrant based on probable cause before this technology is used.

"We believe that there is a way to craft laws that not only protects the safety of Minnesotans but also protects their civil liberties," stated Charles Samuelson, Executive Director of the ACLU-MN. "We believe that only in exigent circumstances should law enforcement be allowed to use these technologies without a warrant."

You can read Crump's testimony here.