Tenth Amendment Center: South Carolina Bill Would Ban Stingray Spying, Hinder Federal Surveillance Program

Tenth Amendment Center: South Carolina Bill Would Ban Stingray Spying, Hinder Federal Surveillance Program:

COLUMBIA, S.C. (Dec. 19, 2016) – A bill prefiled in the South Carolina House would ban the use of “stingrays” to track the location of phones and sweep up electronic communications.The proposed law would not only protect privacy in South Carolina, but would also hinder one aspect of the federal surveillance state.

Rep. J. Todd Rutherford (D-Richland) prefiled House Bill 3286 (H.3286) on Dec. 15. The legislation would prohibit any state or local law enforcement agency in South Carolina from purchasing cell site simulators, commonly known as “stingrays.” These devices essentially spoof cell phone towers, tricking any device within range into connecting to the stingray instead of the tower. This allows law enforcement to sweep up communications content, as well as locate and track the person in possession of a specific phone or other electronic device.

Under the proposed law, any police department already in possession of stingray technology would have to discontinue its use and discard it. H.3286 would impose a complete ban on the use of cell site simulators in the state.

Two other bills prefiled in the South Carolina House would take a more limited approach t