Bill > S639

This bill, also known as the Geolocational Privacy and Surveillance Act or the GPS Act, aims to establish clear rules for acquiring geolocation information, which is data about a person's location derived from devices like mobile phones. It amends Title 18 of the United States Code to make it generally unlawful to intercept or disclose such information without proper authorization, with specific exceptions for normal business operations of service providers, foreign intelligence surveillance, consent from the individual (including parental consent for children), publicly available information, and emergency situations where there's an immediate threat to life or safety. Law enforcement can also access this information under specific circumstances, such as when a device is stolen or during a criminal investigation with reasonable grounds for relevance, and crucially, generally requires a warrant issued by a court of competent jurisdiction for acquisition, aligning with Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. The bill also outlines penalties for violations, allows for civil damages for those whose geolocation information is unlawfully obtained, and provides defenses for good-faith reliance on legal authorizations.