S. 2122 · 117th Congress
Cell-Site Simulator Warrant Act of 2021
Key: what the circles and colors mean
Each circle is a bill. The ring fills as it moves through Congress:
Under the number: the Yea · Nay count of its final (or latest) recorded vote. On a member's page, the small badge is how that member voted: Y Yea / Aye, N Nay / No, P Present, – Not voting.
Gold and violet are only for Yea and Nay; they never mean a party. A member's party is the letter on their photo.
Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 117th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
D
WydenSponsor1 cosponsor · 1 R
1 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
This bill establishes a federal statutory framework to regulate the use of cell-site simulators.
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in Senate · Jun 17, 2021
Cell-Site Simulator Warrant Act of 2021
This bill establishes a federal statutory framework to regulate the use of cell-site simulators. Cell-site simulators (commonly known as Stingrays) are devices that function as or simulate a cell-phone tower to identify, locate, or intercept transmissions from a cell phone for purposes other than providing ordinary commercial mobile services or private mobile services.
The framework generally prohibits the knowing use of a cell-site simulator domestically by an individual or entity or the use of a cell-site simulator by an element of the intelligence community outside the United States to conduct surveillance of a U.S. person. It imposes a civil fine on an individual or entity that violates the prohibition and restricts the use of unlawfully acquired information as evidence in a legal proceeding or official proceeding.
The framework contains exceptions to permit the use of a cell-site simulator in certain circumstances, such as by a law enforcement agency pursuant to a warrant or by an element of the intelligence community to conduct surveillance under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978.
Finally, an individual who is the subject of unlawful use of a cell-site simulator may bring a private right of action.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Cell-Site Simulator Warrant Act of 2021
Latest action (Jun 17, 2021): Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement · Origin: Senate · Introduced: Jun 17, 2021
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.