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Privacy bill would require warrants before government buys location data from brokers
Summary
Senate Bill 1659 would require government entities to obtain a warrant based on probable cause before acquiring geolocation data from commercial data brokers or electronic trackers; civil-liberty groups and internet-service providers supported the measure in committee testimony.
Senator King, speaking on behalf of Senator Hughes, explained Senate Bill 1659 would close a legal gap that lets law enforcement obtain location information by purchasing it from data brokers instead of seeking a warrant.
Witnesses from privacy and technology groups told the committee the bill extends existing warrant protections so that location data obtained from third-party brokers is treated the same as location data compelled from phone companies. The measure would make evidence from unauthorized purchases inadmissible, require notification of affected citizens and mandate destruction of improperly obtained data.
Greg Nojeim of the Center for Democracy & Technology and Scott McCullough of texas.net testified in favor of the bill; Kevin Hale of the Libertarian Party of Texas also supported the measure. Supporters asked the committee to consider narrow exceptions for emergencies but said warrants should be required in the ordinary case.
No committee vote was taken at the time of testimony; the committee later left the bill pending for further consideration.
