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Attorney General warns navigation-app ban could violate free-speech rights; committee defers HB 2025
Summary
Deputy Attorney General told the committee that HB 2025, which would prohibit navigation apps from signaling law-enforcement presence, raises First Amendment problems and enforcement challenges; the committee deferred the bill for further study and asked the AG to explore alternatives.
The committee heard concerns on HB 2025, a bill that would prohibit digital navigation applications from providing alerts that indicate the presence of law enforcement at a specific location. Deputy Attorney General Molina Sanchez told lawmakers the measure could regulate speech based on content, raising both U.S. and Hawaii First Amendment concerns, and would be difficult to enforce because alerts are often generated in real time from user reports or automated inputs.
Sanchez said it is unclear whether prohibiting alerts specifically about law-enforcement presence would be narrowly tailored to the government’s interest in preventing evasion of enforcement operations. The deputy AG recommended the committee hold the bill for further work. The chair deferred the measure and asked the AG’s office to explore paths that avoid constitutional problems while protecting law-enforcement operations.
Members emphasized they did not want to interfere with federal law and asked the AG to examine options that might preserve enforcement effectiveness without running afoul of constitutional protections.
What’s next: HB 2025 was deferred; the committee requested the Attorney General’s office research alternatives that address constitutional and enforcement concerns and provide a path forward in the interim.
