Should police know your cellphone location anytime they want?
The Kelsey Smith Act would have allowed law enforcement to quickly access cell phone locations when a person is abducted or a life is in danger. But the libertarian-leaning think tank R Street said phone companies already possess the authority to share cellphone location data in emergency situations and do so frequently, making the legislation redundant.
They can still find you
Current law already allows phone providers to share info with police in emergencies, according to R Street. If this bill had passed, however, the legislation would have created an unprecedented loophole to the Fourth Amendment right to privacy, they argue. It would have allowed the police to force cell phone carriers to disclose user-location information without a prior court order when they believe there is an emergency.
