Montana residents will vote on amending the state constitution to determine whether to require law enforcement to acquire a warrant to access citizens’ digital data.
The Montana ballot in the 2022 midterm election will include a vote on Constitutional Amendment 48, which would add language to the state’s constitution requiring police to get a search warrant before accessing a citizen’s electronic data or communications. The ballot initiative arrives as Congress debates passing a national privacy framework.
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As more and more data end up online, it becomes more important to protect them, according to Republican state Sen. Kenneth Bogner, the amendment’s sponsor.
“Everything we do is electronic now, including our finances, medical information, and conversations,” Bogner told the Washington Examiner. “As we put more and more on electronic devices, people are gonna want that data, including the government.”
The legislation proposing the amendment was unanimously approved by the state Senate and received a majority of votes from the state House, leaving it to the voters for final approval. If passed, the amendment would make Montana the third state to incorporate such an amendment into its state constitution. This amendment would make it so that law enforcement would be required to obtain a warrant before they can access a user’s cellphone records, private messages, financial information, or medical data.
For example, law enforcement would be required to get a permit before accessing a user’s private messages on social media. While most law enforcement agencies treat such data as private, the amendment would require all to do so.
The proposed amendment “signifies a move away from a reactive approach to securing rights, and towards a proactive approach that protects fundamental rights in the context of the 21st century,” Tanner Avery, the communication director for the Montana-based Frontier Institute, told the Washington Examiner. “Enshrining privacy protections for digital communications in Montana’s Constitution will make it clear that regardless of technological change, Montanans’ privacy is protected from unwarranted government intrusion.” The institute was one of the leading organizations advocating the amendment.
One of the leading critics of the amendment is the Montana Association of Chiefs of Police. The organization argued during legislative hearings that the current phrasing in the state constitution already protects private data and that the amendment would further complicate internet-related investigations by law enforcement. However, their opposition is “soft,” according to a lobbyist representing the group.
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State and federal lawmakers have made strides toward a national privacy framework. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ) submitted the American Data Privacy and Protection Act in July 2022, which would provide a national set of guidelines to protect user data across the United States. The legislation moved out of committee but has stalled on the floor despite privacy groups pushing for the legislation’s passing.
Matters of privacy have been rated high among voters. Most American parents want Congress to pass online privacy legislation, according to a July 2022 poll from Trusted Future.
