More positive news out of Utah this week. Mike Maharrey explains:
… the Utah House unanimously passed a bill that would require police to get a warrant before accessing data transmitted through an electronic communication service. The proposed law would not only increase privacy protections in Utah; it will also hinder the expansion of the federal surveillance state.
Rep. Craig Hall (R-West Valley City) introduced House Bill 87 (HB87) on Jan 19. The proposed law would prohibit law enforcement agencies from accessing electronic information or data transmitted through a provider of an electronic communication service. In practice, this tightens up the existing law to ensure police must get a warrant before accessing communication service provider networks in order to intercept data.
The proposed law also makes some technical changes to warrant reporting procedures.
On March 5, the House Judiciary Committee approved HB87 by a 7-0 vote. Yesterday, the full House passed the bill with a vote of 72-0.
Read more on Tenth Amendment Center.