What are stingrays? They are devices used that look like cellphone towers. They are capable of monitoring cellphone usage and and can tell exactly where your phone is.
You would expect a country that uses such a thing to have a name starting with “Democratic Republic” or “People’s…” However, these devices are used by the FBI and by ordinary law enforcement in America. The RCMP will neither confirm nor deny that they use them.
When can they use this on you? Well, the FBI needs a search warrant to use these devices – in theory. They don’t need one when there is a (vaguely defined) “imminent danger to public safety” – and we all know that the concept of “public safety” has never, ever been abused. They don’t need one when looking for a fugitive. Last, but not least, they don’t need a warrant when cell-site simulators are “used in public places or other locations at which the FBI deems there is no reasonable expectation of privacy.” Otherwise known as: most of the places where people use cellphones. If the FBI “deems” that you shouldn’t expect to be private, then you have no privacy.
What if you file a public records request with the police, asking how many times they have used these devices? Well, for one thing, they will inform the FBI that you asked. Also, they won’t tell you, ostensibly because they have signed non-disclosure agreements with the Harris Corporation, which manufactures the devices. Even if you are a judge, they might not tell you – or they might lie.
This isn’t just shady. This is unacceptable. With all the recent cases of police corruption and brutality, the public has no reason to trust that stingrays will not be misused. The secrecy around them strongly suggests that they are.
Law enforcement is necessary, but state power must have its limits. And the limit should not be that the authorities can do anything that they “deem” acceptable, regardless of the law. There are laws that defend privacy, and inappropriate use of stingrays is illegal. The FBI, the RCMP, and the police are not above the law. The authorities should be even more bound by the law than others, considering that it is the law itself that gives them authority. If law enforcement breaks laws, by what right do they enforce them?
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