Senate Bill No. 396 for an act relating to criminal procedure – electronic information and data privacy act was introduced, on 16 February 2023, to the Rhode Island State Senate and thereafter referred, on the same date, to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Subsequently, the Committee recommended, on 28 February 2023, that the bill be held for further study. In particular, the bill provides that for a criminal investigation or prosecution, a law enforcement agency may not obtain, without a search warrant issued by a court:

• the location information, stored data, or transmitted data of an electronic device; or
• electronic information or data transmitted by the owner of the electronic information or data to a remote computing service provider.

Likewise, the bill highlights that law enforcement agencies may not use, copy, or disclose, for any purpose, the location information, stored data, or transmitted data of an electronic device, or electronic information or data provided by a remote computing service that:

• is not the subject of the warrant; and
• is collected as part of an effort to obtain the location information, stored data, or transmitted data of an electronic device, or electronic information or data provided by a remote computing service provider that is the subject of a warrant.

In addition, the bill notes that the electronic information above must be destroyed in an unrecoverable manner by law enforcement agencies as soon as reasonably possible after electronic information is collected. However, the bill clarifies that location information may be obtained without a warrant for an electronic device if, among other things:

• the device is reported as stolen by the owner;
• the informed, affirmative consent of the owner or user of the device is provided;
• a judicially recognised exception to the warrant is given;
• the owner has voluntarily and publicly disclosed the location information; or
• the remote computing service provider voluntarily discloses the location information.

Furthermore, the bill establishes that law enforcement agencies may not obtain, use, copy, or disclose, for a criminal investigation or prosecution, any record or information, other than a subscriber record, of a provider of an electronic communication service, or remote computing service related to a subscriber or customer without a warrant. However, the bill stipulates that law enforcement agencies may obtain subscriber records without a warrant where, among the things:

• the informed, affirmative consent of the subscriber or customer is provided;
• a judicially recognised exception to warrant requirements is provided; or
• the subscriber or customer voluntarily discloses the record in a manner that is publicly accessible.

You can read the bill here and track its progress here, using the search bar.