The State Legislature has taken up the controversial issue of government access to customer information that passes across mobile and Internet- based devices, and directed the California Law Revision Commission (CLRC) to examine California law and recommend any needed reforms by passing Senate Concurrent Resolution 54, authored by Senator Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima).
"Laws enacted in the era of monopoly landline telephone service do not reflect advances in telecommunications technology and the vast amount of customer information now available from providers," said Senator Padilla in a statement. "California statutes regarding access to customer information lack a clear framework and a defined legal standard for when government can obtain the communication information and from whom."
Senator Padilla said he had concerns about this issue even before the recent revelations about the National Security Agency’s surveillance of communications such as email, video chat and texts of suspected terrorists and others. He said an update is necessary because communications service providers now monitor, collect and retain large quantities of information about their customers including emails and texts, location data, and the contents of the communications. With 92 percent of Californians owning a cellphone, 58% of them owning a smart phone and 86% using the Internet, usage of these services have grown, as have law enforcement requests to providers for customer information. The bill that was passed aims to get CLRC recommendations on necessary updates in this modern technology era.
The measure requires the CLRC to report to the Legislature recommendations to revise statutes governing access by state and local government agencies to customer information for communications service providers such as telephone, broadband, and wireless communication providers. The CLRC is to: (1) update the statutes to reflect "21st Century mobile and Internet-based technologies," (2) protect customers’ constitutional rights, including rights to privacy, free speech and freedom from unlawful searches and seizures; (3) enable state and local government agencies to protect public safety; and (4) make more clear the process that communications service providers should follow in response to requests from state and local agencies for customer information or in order to take action that would affect a customer’s communications service. There is no required timeline by which the CLRC must complete the review, however.
The CLRC was created in 1953 and reviews California statutory and decisional law to discover defects and make recommendations to the Legislature for reform of outdated provisions. There are five staffers at the CLRC, which has an annual budget of $681,000.
