Lack of transparency and accountability cited in continued used of Stingray technology

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is continuing its practice of stifling public access to information about the use of Stingray cell phone surveillance equipment. A redacted copy of a nondisclosure agreement the FBI made with the Tacoma, Washington police department shows that the police must sign a nondisclosure agreement before buying the equipment from the Harris Corporation. The FBI was granted a part in the transaction by the Federal Communication Commission who authorizes the sale of the equipment by the Harris Corporation. (American Civil Liberties Union, September 24, 2014, by Nathan Freed Wessler)

The Stingray devices enable police to establish cell phone towers that transcribe mobile subscriber identify to the towers and establishing the location of the subscribers. Disclosure of the Tacoma police non-disclosure agreement provides a rare glimpse of the operation in showing how the FBI, FCC and Harris Corporation are working together. (RT, September 23, 2014)

The ACLU of Northern California published a guide for criminal defense attorneys to shed some light on the secretive practices of the government in promoting the Stingray technology. “… few criminal defense attorneys are aware of these highly intrusive but extremely common surveillance tools.  This is entirely understandable because the federal government has a policy of not disclosing information about this device.  The government appears to be withholding information from criminal defendants.  It even appears to be providing misleading information and making material omissions to judicial officers when it seeks purported court authorization to use this device, inaccurately referring to it by some other name (such as a pen register device) and failing to alert courts to constitutionally material facts about the technology, such as the full breadth of information it obtains from a suspect and its impact on third parties.  As a result, courts are probably not aware that they are authorizing use of this device and have not had an opportunity to rule on its legality, except in very rare instances,” wrote the ACLU. (American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California,  September 23, 2014)

Tim Cushing, techdirt, September 23, 2014, writes that the Harris Corporation is lying to the public when it says the Stingray technology is FCC-approved. While admitting that the FCC only authorized the equipment for emergencies, Harris has been telling local police that it is all right to use the devices routinely.