State, federal and municipal governing bodies all over the country have been examining cell site simulators or “Stingray” technology to determine whether it should be legal, illegal, and what type of regulation should be passed to keep a balance of privacy and law enforcement. In Annapolis, Maryland lawmakers are learning how the technology is used by law enforcement in various parts of the state, including Montgomery County and Baltimore City. During a state House Judiciary Committee, law enforcement officials revealed the state police tracked phones 50 times last year using the device while it’s been used more frequently in the City of Baltimore, according to the Montgomery County Sentinel. The extent of its use in Montgomery County did not come up at the hearing, and Montgomery County Police Chief Tom Manger said he did not want to comment on the bill because he had not read it.
A Baltimore County delegate has introduced a bill that would require a law enforcement officer to obtain a court order to use a cell site simulator device. House Bill 904 would require “an application for use of a cell site simulator device to contain specified information.” It would also require a law enforcement agency “to take specified actions” in order to use it and it would limit the period of time “during which information may be obtained under an order authorizing the use of a cell site simulator device.”
Under the bill, the Sentinel reported, Stingray users would have to start collecting electronic serial numbers from cell phones within 10 days and would have up to 30 days to completely obtain information from the targeted phones, though that could be extended.
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