BILL NUMBER: S6567
SPONSOR: BRISPORT
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the civil rights law, in relation to prohibiting the use
of cell-site simulators by law enforcement officers
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one adds a new article 3-A to the civil rights law, prohibiting
the use of cell-site stimulators by law enforcement officers.
Section two provides for the effective date of the legislation.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
In recent years, it has been disclosed that law enforcement agencies
across the country, including here in New York, have been using cell
site stimulator devices (commonly known as "stingray devices") to track
and investigate residents without a court order or other authorization.
These "stingray devices" can be as small as a suitcase, allowing police
officers to spy on cell phones by mimicking the signals from a cell
phone tower, thereby pinpointing and tracking a person's location, as
well as gathering the phone numbers that a person has been texting and
calling.
The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) and others have uncovered
broad and sweeping use of these devices by the NYPD, the Erie County
Sheriff's Office (Buffalo), the Rochester Police Department, and others.
The use of these devices presents serious privacy concerns, and has
continued for far too long. This legislation seeks to prohibit the use
of cell-site stimulators by law enforcement officers, and thereby end
this significant invasion of privacy.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-24: S.5825
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This bill is effective immediately.