Virginia Passes Law Requiring Warrant for Use of Stingray Spy Technology — Because the CIA, Based in Virginia, Doesn't Want It's Employees Followed?

By SOSadmin
Kudos, Virginia, land of spies! The state has enacted a privacy law requiring a warrant for state and local law enforcement content surveillance and location tracking. The statute explicitly includes a warrant requirement for police use of controversial cell site simulator or stingray technology, which allows cops to bypass phone companies and track phones directly.

Unfortunately, state legislatures cannot prevent federal authorities from using stingrays to track people without warrants. When state and local authorities are deputized as federal agents under task force operations, they may decide to use the federal standard when conducting investigations. That means there might be times when state and local cops, working under federal authority, still use stingrays without warrants.

Virginia's new law is nonetheless a huge step in the right direction.
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