Calif. Gov. Signs ‘Landmark’ Digital Privacy Bill Into Law

A new law signed by California Governor Jerry Brown enacts sweeping digital privacy protections, such as imposing a warrant requirement for police to access almost any type of digital data produced by or contained within a device or service.

The law, jointly authored by Senators Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and Joel Anderson (R-Alpine), reinforces constitutional rights to privacy by ensuring police obtain a warrant from a judge before accessing a person’s private digital information, including email, text messages and online documents, or tracking or searching electronic devices such as cell phones through such methods as “Stingray” surveillance.

“Gov. Brown just signed a law that says “no” to warrantless government snooping in our digital information”, said Nicole Ozer, technology and civil liberties…

To view the full article, register now. 178, arguing that clear processes for obtaining data would improve their ability to do their jobs, while also protecting privacy. That ends today with the Governor’s signature of CalECPA, a carefully crafted law that protects personal information of all Californians. “This is nonsensical and violates the right to liberty and privacy that every Californian expects under the constitution”.

“Law enforcement will need to have a court determine there is probable cause that you’re committing a crime before they can read all your personal communications”, Leno says.

It also requires a warrant to track the location of electronic devices like mobile phones, or to search them.

EFF, along with the ACLU and the California Newspaper Publishers Association, sponsored the bill from the very beginning, recognizing how the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure is inherently tied to freedom of speech. A warrant accompanied 20 percent of those requests, and more than 11 percent came from within California.

“It brings the state’s statues into the 21st century by recognizing that we communicate with each other digitally”, Leno said. Google, Facebook and Twitter were among the companies that supported the bill, which had bipartisan sponsorship in the state legislature.

“California has led the nation in technological innovation for decades, and it’s finally time for its digital privacy laws to catch up”, said Lee Tien, Senior Staff Attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Last year, AT&T received 64,000 demands – a 70 percent increase in a single year.

California Electronic Privacy Act (CalECPA, SB 178) was passed in September by the state assembly after the senate passed it in June.

Agencies such as the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, which in September said that it would get “judicial authorization” for the stingrays despite not needing a warrant, will now have to get one.