Many people enjoy the free use of their GPS systems. However some have paranoid fears that these systems may be used to track them needlessly. Perhaps Congress is thinking the same thing. A new group of law abiding citizens just introduced an interesting bill into Congress which will require all legal agents to obtain a special warrant before they can track citizens using all GPS devices.
This bill is referred to as the “Geolocation Privacy and Surveillance Act.”
The GPS Bill
The introduction of the bill was supported by various members of the republican and democratic party, as well as members of the House judiciary committee. What does passing this bill mean to security and the safety of surveillance team members? It means that people using security and tracking devices no longer have the free reign to use them liberally and without a system of checks and balances… not even legal enforcement or law agents. Isn’t that how the law was established to be in the first place?
The use of tracking and surveillance devises was established as a means to protect citizens and locate them in complex cases. Not as a tool to track and monitor people just for the sake of it. According to bill proponents, the use of advanced technologies has made it easier than ever for individuals in law enforcement to track individuals. The goal of this bill is to ensure that citizens are protected, particularly with regard to their rights to protection and privacy.
Citizens And Privacy Rights
Citizens do have a right to privacy, and on one should be watching them or tracking them without their knowledge, or without reasonable suspicion. In a case where there is suspicion, or criminal activity, Congressional officials are suggesting that a warrant be obtained to protect the rights of potentially innocent citizens. As the saying goes, citizens are innocent until proven guilty.
This legislation was introduced suggesting that limits should be placed on all forms of monitoring. It requires that evidence from law enforcement agents must be gathered before surveillance is allowed and a warrant is obtained, that suggests there is probable cause for using GPS and for surveillance or for tracking a particular individual.
There has been an ongoing debate for several years regarding the use of GPS systems to track citizens and criticism regarding its rampant use. Hopefully this bill will help establish some boundaries, or establish whether or not boundaries are required.
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