Except as provided in Section 77-23f-106, for a criminal investigation or prosecution, a law enforcement agency may not obtain reverse-location information for electronic devices within a geofence unless:
Attorney's Note
Under the Utah Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
Anonymized: means that the identifying information connected to an electronic device has been rendered anonymous in a manner such that the subject, including an individual, household, device, or Internet protocol address, is not identifiable to a law enforcement agency. See Utah Code 77-23f-101
Electronic device: means a device that enables access to or use of a location information service or can otherwise create or provide location information. See Utah Code 77-23f-101
Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
Geofence: means a specified geographic area defined by a virtual perimeter or geographic coordinates. See Utah Code 77-23f-101
Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
Reverse-location information: means historical location information for:
(a)
a defined time period;
(b)
a defined or undefined area; and
(c)
a defined or undefined number of electronic devices, for which the identities of the owners or users of the electronic devices are unknown to law enforcement. See Utah Code 77-23f-101
(a)
the law enforcement agency obtains a search warrant as provided under this section; and
(b)
(i)
the investigation or prosecution involves:
(A)
a felony;
(B)
a class A misdemeanor that involves harm or a risk of harm to a person, a violation of Title 23A, Wildlife Resources Act, Wildlife Resources Act, or is part of a pattern of criminal activity; or
(C)
a class B misdemeanor that involves harm or a risk of harm to a person, the unlawful taking of protected wildlife, or is part of a pattern of criminal activity; or
(ii)
the law enforcement agency can demonstrate an imminent, ongoing threat to public safety.
(2)
To obtain reverse-location information inside of a geofence, a law enforcement agency shall:
(a)
include with the sworn warrant application:
(i)
a map or other visual depiction that represents the geofence for which the warrant is seeking information; and
(ii)
the following language at the beginning of the application in a legible font no smaller than other text appearing in the application: “NOTICE: This warrant application seeks judicial authorization for the disclosure of reverse-location information of electronic devices near a crime at or near the time of the crime. If authorized, the warrant allows law enforcement to obtain historical location information of all devices within the area described in the warrant during the specified time from entities in possession of the relevant data. The electronic devices captured in the warrant may be owned or used by both alleged criminal perpetrators and individuals not involved in the commission of a crime. For this reason, any warrant issued must require the anonymization of all devices associated with the reverse-location information.”; and
(b)
establish probable cause to believe that evidence of a crime will be found within the geofence and within a specified period of time.
(3)
If a court grants a warrant under Subsection (2), the court shall require that all electronic device data provided pursuant to the warrant be anonymized before the reverse-location information is released to the law enforcement agency.
