II 

Calendar No. 567 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1223 

To address voluntary location tracking of electronic communications devices, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 16, 2011 

Mr. FRANKEN (for himself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. COONS, Mr. SANDERS, 

Mr. DURBIN, Mr. MENENDEZ, and Mrs. FEINSTEIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

DECEMBER 17, 2012 

Reported by Mr. LEAHY, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To address voluntary location tracking of electronic 

communications devices, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Location Privacy Pro5 tection Act of 2011’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITION. 

2 In this Act, the term ‘‘geolocation information’’ has 

3 the meaning given that term in section 2713 of title 18, 

4 United States Code, as added by this Act. 

5 SEC. 3. VOLUNTARY LOCATION TRACKING OF ELECTRONIC 

6 COMMUNICATIONS DEVICES. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 121 of title 18, United 

8 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘§ 2713. Voluntary location tracking of electronic 

11 communications devices 

12 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

13 ‘‘(1) the term ‘covered entity’ means a non14 governmental individual or entity engaged in the 

15 business, in or affecting interstate or foreign com16 merce, of offering or providing a service to electronic 

17 communications devices, including, but not limited 

18 to, offering or providing electronic communication 

19 service, remote computing service, or geolocation in20 formation service; 

21 ‘‘(2) the term ‘electronic communications de22 vice’ means any device that— 

23 ‘‘(A) enables access to, or use of, an elec24 tronic communications system, electronic com25 munication service, remote computing service, 

26 or geolocation information service; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) is designed or intended to be carried 

2 by or on the person of an individual or travel 

3 with the individual, including, but not limited 

4 to, a vehicle the individual drives; 

5 ‘‘(3) the term ‘express authorization’ means ex6 press affirmative consent after receiving clear and 

7 prominent notice that— 

8 ‘‘(A) is displayed by the electronic commu9 nications device, separate and apart from any 

10 final end user license agreement, privacy policy, 

11 terms of use page, or similar document; and 

12 ‘‘(B) provides information regarding— 

13 ‘‘(i) what geolocation information will 

14 be collected; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) the specific nongovernmental en16 tities to which the geolocation information 

17 may be disclosed; 

18 ‘‘(4) the term ‘geolocation information’— 

19 ‘‘(A) means any information— 

20 ‘‘(i) concerning the location of an elec21 tronic communications device that is in 

22 whole or in part generated by or derived 

23 from the operation or use of the electronic 

24 communications device; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) that may be used to identify or 

2 approximate the location of the electronic 

3 communications device or the individual 

4 that is using the device; and 

5 ‘‘(B) does not include any temporarily as6 signed network address or Internet protocol ad7 dress of the individual; and 

8 ‘‘(5) the term ‘geolocation information service’ 

9 means the provision of a global positioning service or 

10 other mapping, locational, or directional information 

11 service. 

12 ‘‘(b) COLLECTION OR DISCLOSURE OF GEOLOCATION

13 INFORMATION TO OR BY NONGOVERNMENTAL ENTI14 TIES.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para16 graph (2), a covered entity may not knowingly col17 lect, receive, record, obtain, or disclose to a non18 governmental individual or entity the geolocation in19 formation from an electronic communications device 

20 without the express authorization of the individual 

21 that is using the electronic communications device. 

22 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—A covered entity may 

23 knowingly collect, receive, record, obtain, or disclose 

24 to a nongovernmental individual or entity the 

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1 nication device without the express authorization of 

2 the individual that is using the electronic commu3 nications device if the covered entity has a good 

4 faith belief that the collection, receipt, recording, ob5 taining, or disclosure is— 

6 ‘‘(A) necessary to locate a minor child or 

7 provide fire, medical, public safety, or other 

8 emergency services; 

9 ‘‘(B) for the sole purpose of transmitting 

10 the geolocation information to the individual or 

11 another authorized recipient, including another 

12 third party authorized under this subparagraph; 

13 or 

14 ‘‘(C) expressly required by statute, regula15 tion, or appropriate judicial process. 

16 ‘‘(c) ANTI-CYBERSTALKING PROTECTION.—Not ear17 lier than 24 hours, and not later than 7 days, after the 

18 time an individual provides express authorization to a cov19 ered entity providing a geolocation information service to 

20 the individual for the express purpose of authorizing dis21 closure of geolocation information relating to the indi22 vidual to another individual, the covered entity shall pro23 vide the individual a verification displayed by the elec24 tronic communications device that informs the indi25 vidual— 


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1 ‘‘(1) that geolocation information relating to 

2 the individual is being disclosed to another indi3 vidual; and 

4 ‘‘(2) how the individual may revoke consent to 

5 the collection, receipt, recording, obtaining, and dis6 closure of geolocation information relating to the in7 dividual. 

8 ‘‘(d) CIVIL REMEDIES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) ACTION BY ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE

10 UNITED STATES.—If the Attorney General of the 

11 United States has reasonable cause to believe that 

12 an individual or entity is violating this section, the 

13 Attorney General may bring a civil action in an ap14 propriate United States district court. 

15 ‘‘(2) ACTION BY STATE ATTORNEYS GEN16 ERAL.—If the attorney general of a State has rea17 sonable cause to believe that an interest of the resi18 dents of the State has been or is threatened or ad19 versely affected by a violation of this section, the at20 torney general of the State may bring a civil action 

21 on behalf of the residents of the State in an appro22 priate United States district court. 

23 ‘‘(3) RIGHT OF ACTION.—Any individual ag24 grieved by any action of an individual or entity in 


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1 violation of this section may bring a civil action in 

2 an appropriate United States district court. 

3 ‘‘(4) PENDING PROCEEDINGS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) FEDERAL ACTION.—If the Attorney 

5 General has brought a civil action alleging a 

6 violation of this section, an attorney general of 

7 a State or private person may not bring a civil 

8 action under this subsection against a defend9 ant named in the civil action relating to a viola10 tion of this section that is alleged in the civil 

11 action while the civil action is pending. 

12 ‘‘(B) STATE ACTION.—If the attorney gen13 eral of a State has brought a civil action alleg14 ing a violation of this section, an individual may 

15 not bring a civil action under this subsection 

16 against a defendant named in the civil action 

17 for a violation of this section that is alleged in 

18 the civil action while the civil action is pending. 

19 ‘‘(5) RELIEF.—In a civil action brought under 

20 this subsection, the court may award— 

21 ‘‘(A) actual damages, but not less than 

22 damages in the amount of $2,500; 

23 ‘‘(B) punitive damages; 

24 ‘‘(C) reasonable attorney’s fees and other 

25 litigation costs reasonably incurred; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) such other preliminary or equitable 

2 relief as the court determines to be appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(6) PERIOD OF LIMITATIONS.—No civil action 

4 may be brought under this subsection unless such 

5 civil action is begun within 2 years from the date of 

6 the act complained of or the date of discovery. 

7 ‘‘(7) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—A civil action 

8 may not be brought under this subsection relating to 

9 any collection, receipt, recording, obtaining, or dis10 closure of geolocation information that is authorized 

11 under any other provision of law or appropriate legal 

12 process. 

13 ‘‘(e) EFFECTS ON OTHER LAW.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—This section shall super15 sede a provision of the law of a State or political 

16 subdivision of a State that requires or allows collec17 tion or disclosure of geolocation information prohib18 ited by this section. 

19 ‘‘(2) COMMON CARRIERS AND CABLE SERV20 ICES.—This section shall not apply to the activities 

21 of an individual or entity to the extent the activities 

22 are subject to section 222 or 631 of the Communica23 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 222 and 551).’’. 

24 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

25 Chapter 121 of title 18, United States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) in the table of sections, by adding at the 

2 end the following: 

‘‘2713. Voluntary location tracking of electronic communications devices.’’; 

3 and 

4 (2) in section 2702— 

5 (A) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘A pro6 vider’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided under 

7 section 2713, a provider’’; and 

8 (B) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘A pro9 vider’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided under 

10 section 2713, a provider’’. 

11 SEC. 4. GEOLOCATION INFORMATION USED IN INTERSTATE 

12 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OR STALKING. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 110A of title 18, United 

14 States Code, is amended— 

15 (1) by redesignating section 2266 as section 

16 2267; 

17 (2) by inserting after section 2265 the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘§ 2266. Geolocation information used in interstate 

20 domestic violence or stalking 

21 ‘‘(a) OFFENSES; UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF

22 GEOLOCATION INFORMATION IN AID OF INTERSTATE DO23 MESTIC VIOLENCE OR STALKING.—A covered entity 

24 that— 


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1 ‘‘(1) knowingly and willfully discloses 

2 geolocation information about an individual to an3 other individual; 

4 ‘‘(2) knew that a violation of section 2261, 

5 2261A, or 2262 would result from the disclosure; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(3) intends to aid in a violation of section 

8 2261, 2261A, or 2262 as a result of the disclosure, 

9 shall be punished as provided in subsection (b). 

10 ‘‘(b) PENALTIES.—A covered entity that violates sub11 section (a) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for 

12 not more than 2 years, or both.’’; and 

13 (3) in section 2267, as so redesignated, by add14 ing at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(11) COVERED ENTITY; GEOLOCATION INFOR16 MATION.—The terms ‘covered entity’ and 

17 ‘geolocation information’ have the meanings given 

18 those terms in section 2713.’’. 

19 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

20 (1) TITLE 10.—Section 1561a(b) of title 10, 

21 United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘section 

22 2266(5)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 2267(5)’’. 

23 (2) TITLE 18.—Title 18, United States Code, is 

24 amended— 


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1 (A) in section 1992(d)(14), by striking 

2 ‘‘section 2266’’ and inserting ‘‘section 2267’’; 

3 and 

4 (B) in chapter 110A— 

5 (i) in the table of sections, by striking 

6 the item relating to section 2266 and in7 serting the following: 

‘‘2266 Geolocation information used in interstate domestic violence or stalking. 

‘‘2267. Definitions.’’; 

8 and 

9 (ii) in section 2261(b)(6), by striking 

10 ‘‘section 2266 of title 18, United States 

11 Code,’’ and inserting ‘‘section 2267’’. 

12 (3) OMNIBUS CRIME CONTROL AND SAFE

13 STREETS ACT OF 1968.—Section 2011(c) of title I of 

14 the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 

15 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796gg–5(c)) is amended by strik16 ing ‘‘section 2266’’ and inserting ‘‘section 2267’’. 

17 SEC. 5. SALE OF GEOLOCATION INFORMATION OF YOUNG 

18 CHILDREN. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 110 of title 18, United 

20 States Code, is amended— 

21 (1) by inserting after section 2252C the fol22 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘§ 2252D. Sale of geolocation information of young 

2 children 

3 ‘‘Any person who knowingly and willfully sells the 

4 geolocation information of not less than 1,000 children 

5 under 11 years of age shall be fined under this title, im6 prisoned for not more 2 years, or both.’’; and 

7 (2) in section 2256— 

8 (A) in paragraph (8), by striking the pe9 riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; 

10 (B) in paragraph (9), by striking the pe11 riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; 

12 (C) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

13 at the end; 

14 (D) in paragraph (11), by striking the pe15 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

16 (E) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(12) the term ‘geolocation information’ has the 

18 meaning given that term in section 2713.’’. 

19 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

20 The table of sections for chapter 110 of title 18, United 

21 States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relat22 ing to section 2252C the following: 

‘‘2252D. Sale of geolocation information of young children.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. NATIONAL BASELINE STUDY OF USE OF 

2 GEOLOCATION DATA IN VIOLENCE AGAINST 

3 WOMEN. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The National Institute of Justice, 

5 in consultation with the Office on Violence Against 

6 Women, shall conduct a national baseline study to examine 

7 the role of geolocation information in violence against 

8 women. 

9 (b) SCOPE.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The study conducted under 

11 subsection (a) shall examine the role that various 

12 new technologies that use geolocation information 

13 may have in the facilitation of domestic violence, 

14 dating violence, or stalking, including, but not lim15 ited to— 

16 (A) global positioning system technology; 

17 (B) smartphone mobile applications; 

18 (C) in-car navigation devices; and 

19 (D) geo-tagging technology. 

20 (2) EVALUATION.—The study conducted under 

21 subsection (a) shall evaluate the effectiveness of the 

22 responses of Federal, State, tribal, and local law en23 forcement agencies to the conduct described in para24 graph (1). 

25 (3) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The study conducted 

26 under subsection (a) shall propose recommendations 


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1 to improve the effectiveness of the responses of Fed2 eral, State, tribal, and local law enforcement agen3 cies to the conduct described in paragraph (1). 

4 (c) TASK FORCE.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General, act6 ing through the Director of the Office on Violence 

7 Against Women, shall establish a task force to assist 

8 in the development and implementation of the study 

9 conducted under subsection (a) and guide implemen10 tation of the recommendations proposed under sub11 section (b)(3). 

12 (2) MEMBERS.—The task force established 

13 under paragraph (1) shall include— 

14 (A) representatives from— 

15 (i) the National Institute of Standards 

16 and Technology; and 

17 (ii) the Federal Trade Commission; 

18 and 

19 (B) representatives appointed by the Di20 rector of the Office on Violence Against Women 

21 from— 

22 (i) the offices of attorney generals of 

23 States; 

24 (ii) national violence against women 

25 nonprofit organizations; and 


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1 (iii) the industries related to the tech2 nologies described in subsection (b)(1). 

3 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

4 of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall sub5 mit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and 

6 the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Rep7 resentatives a report that describes the results of the study 

8 conducted under subsection (a). 

9 SEC. 7. GEOLOCATION CRIME REPORTING CENTER. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General, acting 

11 through the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investiga12 tion, and in conjunction with the Director of the Bureau 

13 of Justice Assistance, shall create a mechanism using the 

14 Internet Crime Complaint Center to register complaints 

15 of crimes the conduct of which was aided by use of 

16 geolocation information. 

17 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

18 date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, act19 ing through the Director of the Federal Bureau of Inves20 tigation, and in conjunction with the Director of the Bu21 reau of Justice Assistance, shall submit to the Committee 

22 on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the 

23 Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report that— 

24 (1) discusses the information obtained using the 

25 mechanism created under subsection (a); 


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1 (2) evaluates the potential risks that the wide2 spread availability of geolocation information poses 

3 in increasing crimes against person and property; 

4 (3) describes programs of State and municipal 

5 governments intended to reduce these risks; and 

6 (4) makes recommendations on measures that 

7 could be undertaken by Congress to reduce or elimi8 nate these risks. 

9 SEC. 8. NATIONAL GEOLOCATION CURRICULUM DEVELOP10 MENT. 

11 The Attorney General shall develop a national edu12 cation curriculum for use by State and local law enforce13 ment agencies, judicial educators, and victim service pro14 viders to ensure that all courts, victim advocates, and 

15 State and local law enforcement personnel have access to 

16 information about relevant laws, practices, procedures, 

17 and policies for investigating and prosecuting the misuse 

18 of geolocation information. 

19 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

20 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Location Privacy Pro21 tection Act of 2012’’. 

22 SEC. 2. DEFINITION. 

23 In this Act, the term ‘‘geolocation information’’ has the 

24 meaning given that term in section 2713 of title 18, United 

25 States Code, as added by this Act. 


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1 SEC. 3. VOLUNTARY LOCATION TRACKING OF ELECTRONIC 

2 COMMUNICATIONS DEVICES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 121 of title 18, United 

4 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘§ 2713. Voluntary location tracking of electronic 

6 communications devices 

7 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

8 ‘‘(1) the term ‘covered entity’ means a non9 governmental individual or entity engaged in the 

10 business, in or affecting interstate or foreign com11 merce, of offering or providing a service to electronic 

12 communications devices, including, but not limited 

13 to, offering or providing an electronic communication 

14 service, remote computing service, or geolocation in15 formation service; 

16 ‘‘(2) the term ‘electronic communications device’ 

17 means any device that— 

18 ‘‘(A) enables access to, or use of, an elec19 tronic communications system, electronic com20 munication service, remote computing service, or 

21 geolocation information service; and 

22 ‘‘(B) is designed or intended to be carried 

23 by or on the person of an individual or travel 

24 with the individual, including, but not limited 

25 to, in or as part of a vehicle the individual 

26 drives; 


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1 ‘‘(3) the term ‘express authorization’ means ex2 press affirmative consent after receiving clear and 

3 prominent notice that— 

4 ‘‘(A) is displayed by the electronic commu5 nications device, separate and apart from any 

6 final end user license agreement, privacy policy, 

7 terms of use page, or similar document; and 

8 ‘‘(B) provides information regarding— 

9 ‘‘(i) what geolocation information will 

10 be collected, received, recorded, or obtained; 

11 ‘‘(ii) the specific individuals or non12 governmental entities to which the 

13 geolocation information may be disclosed by 

14 the covered entity; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) how the individual may elec16 tronically revoke consent to the collection, 

17 receipt, recording, obtaining, and disclosure 

18 of the geolocation information; 

19 ‘‘(4) the term ‘geolocation information’— 

20 ‘‘(A) means any information— 

21 ‘‘(i) concerning the location of an elec22 tronic communications device that is in 

23 whole or in part generated by or derived 

24 from the operation or use of the electronic 

25 communications device; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) that may be used to identify the 

2 location of the individual that is using the 

3 device; 

4 ‘‘(B) includes, but is not limited to— 

5 ‘‘(i) Global Positioning System data 

6 and data from multilateration of cell anten7 nae signals, WiFi signals, or other tech8 nologies; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) cellular antenna connection 

10 records, including data regarding the geo11 graphic location, attributes, and sectors of 

12 the antenna transmitting a wire or elec13 tronic communication to or from an elec14 tronic communications device; and 

15 ‘‘(C) does not include— 

16 ‘‘(i) the name of the individual; 

17 ‘‘(ii) the home, business, or billing ad18 dress of the individual, or any of the compo19 nent parts of such an address; 

20 ‘‘(iii) the local and long distance tele21 phone connection records, or records of ses22 sion times and durations, of the individual; 

23 ‘‘(iv) the length of service (including 

24 start date) and types of service utilized by 

25 the individual; 


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1 ‘‘(v) the telephone or instrument num2 ber or other subscriber number or identity, 

3 including any network or Internet Protocol 

4 address, of the individual; and 

5 ‘‘(vi) the means and source of payment 

6 for a service (including any credit card or 

7 bank account number) of the individual; 

8 ‘‘(5) the term ‘geolocation information service’ 

9 means the provision of a global positioning service or 

10 other mapping, locational, or directional information 

11 service; and 

12 ‘‘(6) the term ‘knowingly’ means having actual 

13 knowledge. 

14 ‘‘(b) COLLECTION OR DISCLOSURE OF GEOLOCATION

15 INFORMATION TO OR BY NONGOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para17 graphs (2) and (3), a covered entity may not know18 ingly collect, receive, record, obtain, or disclose to a 

19 nongovernmental individual or entity the geolocation 

20 information from an electronic communications de21 vice without the express authorization of the indi22 vidual that is using the electronic communications de23 vice. 

24 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—A covered entity may know25 ingly collect, receive, record, obtain, or disclose to a 


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1 nongovernmental individual or entity the geolocation 

2 information from an electronic communications de3 vice without the express authorization of the indi4 vidual that is using the electronic communications de5 vice if the covered entity has a good faith belief that 

6 the collection, receipt, recording, obtaining, or disclo7 sure is— 

8 ‘‘(A) to allow a parent or legal guardian to 

9 locate a minor child; 

10 ‘‘(B) for the provision of fire, medical, pub11 lic safety, or other emergency services; 

12 ‘‘(C) for the sole purpose of transmitting the 

13 geolocation information to the individual or an14 other authorized recipient, including another 

15 third party authorized under this subparagraph; 

16 ‘‘(D) necessary to protect the rights or prop17 erty of the covered entity, or protect customers of 

18 the covered entity or other covered entities from 

19 fraudulent, abusive, or unlawful use of, or sub20 scription to, such services; 

21 ‘‘(E) pursuant to a court order, in a civil 

22 proceeding upon a showing of compelling need 

23 for the information that cannot be accommodated 

24 by any other means, if— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the individual is given reasonable 

2 notice, by the person seeking the disclosure, 

3 of the court proceeding relevant to the 

4 issuance of the court order; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) the individual is afforded the op6 portunity to appear and contest the claim 

7 of the person seeking the disclosure; 

8 ‘‘(F) requested by a law enforcement or in9 telligence agency of the United States, a State, or 

10 a political subdivision of a State pursuant to 

11 any lawful authority or activity, including 

12 under this chapter, chapter 119, the Foreign In13 telligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 

14 1801 et seq.), the Federal Rules of Criminal Pro15 cedure, or any other provision of Federal or 

16 State law, if the covered entity uses the 

17 geolocation information collected, received, re18 corded, or obtained in response to the request 

19 solely for law enforcement or intelligence pur20 poses; or 

21 ‘‘(G) a collection of geolocation information 

22 that is necessary for network operation by an in23 dividual or entity that is subject to section 222 

24 or 631 of the Communications Act of 1934, if the 


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1 entity only uses the information solely for pur2 poses of network operation. 

3 If an order is granted under subparagraph (E), the 

4 court shall impose appropriate safeguards against un5 authorized disclosure. 

6 ‘‘(3) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

7 ‘‘(A) ONE TIME CONSENT.—A covered entity 

8 shall not be required to obtain express authoriza9 tion for each individual collection, receipt, re10 cording, obtaining, or disclosure of geolocation 

11 information for which an express authorization 

12 is required under paragraphs (1) and (2) if— 

13 ‘‘(i) an express authorization was ob14 tained before the initial collection, receipt, 

15 recording, obtaining, or disclosure; 

16 ‘‘(ii) the nature of the geolocation in17 formation being collected, received, recorded, 

18 or obtained has not changed since the ex19 press authorization; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) the geolocation information is 

21 being disclosed to a nongovernmental indi22 vidual or entity specified at the time of the 

23 express authorization. 

24 ‘‘(B) FIRST PARTY RESPONSIBILITY.—A 

25 covered entity that collects, receives, records, or 


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1 obtains geolocation information from the covered 

2 entity that initially collected, received, recorded, 

3 or obtained the geolocation information from the 

4 electronic communications device shall not be re5 quired to obtain an express authorization for 

6 that collection, receipt, recording, or obtaining or 

7 any subsequent disclosures of the geolocation in8 formation. 

9 ‘‘(C) LEGACY AND FUTURE DEVICES.—A 

10 covered entity that has a reasonable belief that it 

11 is impossible to communicate the information de12 scribed in subsection (a)(3)(B) by means of a 

13 display on the electronic communications device, 

14 as required under subsection (a)(3)(A), may 

15 communicate the information and obtain the ex16 press affirmative consent required under para17 graph (1) orally or in writing. 

18 ‘‘(D) SHARED DEVICES.—A covered entity 

19 shall not be required to obtain an express author20 ization for the collection, receipt, recording, ob21 taining, or disclosure of geolocation information 

22 from an individual if the covered entity— 

23 ‘‘(i) does not have actual knowledge 

24 that the electronic device from which the 

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1 cording, or obtaining geolocation informa2 tion is being used by an individual different 

3 from the individual from whom the covered 

4 entity obtained express authorization; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) is not collecting, receiving, record6 ing, or obtaining the geolocation informa7 tion of the individual in a manner that the 

8 covered entity knows and intends to be im9 perceptible to the individual. 

10 ‘‘(c) ANTI-CYBERSTALKING PROTECTION.—Except for 

11 an instance in which geolocation information is being col12 lected under the exception described in subsection (b)(2)(F), 

13 if a covered entity collects, receives, records, or obtains the 

14 geolocation information of an individual in a manner that 

15 the covered entity knows and intends to be imperceptible 

16 to the individual, not earlier than 24 hours and not later 

17 than 7 days after the initial collection, receipt, recording, 

18 or obtaining, the covered entity shall provide the individual 

19 a notice that informs the individual— 

20 ‘‘(1) what geolocation information relating to the 

21 individual is being collected, received, recorded, or ob22 tained; 

23 ‘‘(2) the nongovernmental individuals or entities 

24 to which the geolocation information has been or is 

25 being disclosed; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) how the individual may electronically re2 voke consent to the collection, receipt, recording, ob3 taining, and disclosure of the geolocation information. 

4 ‘‘(d) CIVIL REMEDIES.— 

5 ‘‘(1) ACTION BY ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE

6 UNITED STATES.—If the Attorney General of the 

7 United States has reasonable cause to believe that an 

8 individual or entity is violating this section, the At9 torney General may bring a civil action in an appro10 priate United States district court. 

11 ‘‘(2) ACTION BY STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL.— 

12 If the attorney general of a State has reasonable cause 

13 to believe that an interest of the residents of the State 

14 has been or is threatened or adversely affected by a 

15 violation of this section, the attorney general of the 

16 State may bring a civil action on behalf of the resi17 dents of the State in an appropriate United States 

18 district court. 

19 ‘‘(3) RIGHT OF ACTION.—Any individual ag20 grieved by any action of an individual or entity in 

21 violation of this section may bring a civil action in 

22 an appropriate United States district court. 

23 ‘‘(4) EFFECT ON OTHER PROCEEDINGS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) FEDERAL ACTION.—On and after the 

25 date on which the Attorney General of the 


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1 United States files a civil action alleging a vio2 lation of this section, an attorney general of a 

3 State or an individual may not bring a civil ac4 tion under this subsection against a defendant 

5 named in the civil action relating to a violation 

6 of this section that is alleged in the civil action. 

7 ‘‘(B) STATE ACTION.—On and after the date 

8 on which the attorney general of a State files a 

9 civil action alleging a violation of this section, 

10 an individual may not bring a civil action 

11 under this subsection against a defendant named 

12 in the civil action for a violation of this section 

13 that is alleged in the civil action. 

14 ‘‘(5) RELIEF.—In a civil action brought under 

15 this subsection, the court may award— 

16 ‘‘(A) actual damages, but not less than 

17 damages in the amount of $2,500; 

18 ‘‘(B) punitive damages; 

19 ‘‘(C) reasonable attorney’s fees and other 

20 litigation costs reasonably incurred; and 

21 ‘‘(D) such other preliminary or equitable re22 lief as the court determines to be appropriate. 

23 ‘‘(6) PERIOD OF LIMITATIONS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara25 graph (B), a civil action may not be brought 


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1 under this subsection unless the civil action is 

2 filed not later than 2 years after the later of the 

3 date of the act complained of or the date of dis4 covery of the act complained of. 

5 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—In no instance may a 

6 civil action be filed under this subsection after 

7 the date that is 10 years after the date of the act 

8 complained of. 

9 ‘‘(7) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—A civil action 

10 may not be brought under this subsection relating to 

11 any collection, receipt, recording, obtaining, or disclo12 sure of geolocation information that is explicitly au13 thorized under another provision of Federal law. 

14 ‘‘(e) EFFECTS ON OTHER LAW.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—This section shall supersede 

16 a provision of the law of a State or political subdivi17 sion of a State that requires or allows collection, re18 ceipt, recording, obtaining or disclosure of geolocation 

19 information prohibited by this section. 

20 ‘‘(2) STATE CONSUMER PROTECTION LAWS.— 

21 Nothing in this section shall be construed to preempt 

22 the law of a State that grants greater consumer pro23 tections relating to the collection, receipt, recording, 

24 obtaining, or disclosure of geolocation information 

25 from electronic communications devices. 


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1 ‘‘(3) RIGHTS AND REMEDIES.—Nothing in this 

2 section shall be construed to effect the rights and rem3 edies of any individual under any other State or Fed4 eral law. 

5 ‘‘(4) COMMON CARRIERS AND CABLE SERV6 ICES.—This section shall not apply to the activities 

7 of an individual or entity to the extent the activities 

8 are subject to section 222 or 631 of the Communica9 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 222 and 551).’’. 

10 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

11 Chapter 121 of title 18, United States Code, is amended— 

12 (1) in the table of sections, by adding at the end 

13 the following: 

‘‘2713. Voluntary location tracking of electronic communications devices.’’; 

14 and 

15 (2) in section 2702— 

16 (A) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘A pro17 vider’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided under 

18 section 2713, a provider’’; and 

19 (B) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘A pro20 vider’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided under 

21 section 2713, a provider’’. 

22 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section and the amend23 ments made by this section shall take effect 180 days after 

24 the date of enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 4. GEOLOCATION INFORMATION USED IN INTERSTATE 

2 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OR STALKING. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 110A of title 18, United 

4 States Code, is amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating section 2266 as section 

6 2267; 

7 (2) by inserting after section 2265 the following: 

8 ‘‘§ 2266. Geolocation information used in interstate 

9 domestic violence or stalking 

10 ‘‘(a) OFFENSES; UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF

11 GEOLOCATION INFORMATION IN AID OF INTERSTATE DO12 MESTIC VIOLENCE OR STALKING.—A covered entity or an 

13 employee of a covered entity that— 

14 ‘‘(1) knowingly and intentionally discloses 

15 geolocation information about an individual to an16 other individual; 

17 ‘‘(2) knew that a violation of section 2261, 

18 2261A, or 2262 could result from the disclosure; and 

19 ‘‘(3) intends to aid in a violation of section 

20 2261, 2261A, or 2262 as a result of the disclosure, 

21 shall be punished as provided in subsection (b). 

22 ‘‘(b) PENALTIES.—A covered entity or employee of a 

23 covered entity that violates subsection (a) shall be fined 

24 under this title, imprisoned for not more than 2 years, or 

25 both.’’; and 


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1 (3) in section 2267, as so redesignated, by add2 ing at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(11) COVERED ENTITY; GEOLOCATION INFORMA4 TION.—The terms ‘covered entity’, ‘geolocation infor5 mation’, and ‘knowingly’ have the meanings given 

6 those terms in section 2713.’’. 

7 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

8 (1) TITLE 10.—Section 1561a(b) of title 10, 

9 United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘section 

10 2266(5)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 2267(5)’’. 

11 (2) TITLE 18.—Title 18, United States Code, is 

12 amended— 

13 (A) in section 1992(d)(14), by striking ‘‘sec14 tion 2266’’ and inserting ‘‘section 2267’’; and 

15 (B) in chapter 110A— 

16 (i) in the table of sections, by striking 

17 the item relating to section 2266 and insert18 ing the following: 

‘‘2266. Geolocation information used in interstate domestic violence or stalking. 

‘‘2267. Definitions.’’; 

19 and 

20 (ii) in section 2261(b)(6), by striking 

21 ‘‘section 2266 of title 18, United States 

22 Code,’’ and inserting ‘‘section 2267’’. 

23 (3) OMNIBUS CRIME CONTROL AND SAFE

24 STREETS ACT OF 1968.—Section 2011(c) of title I of 


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1 the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 

2 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796gg–5(c)) is amended by striking 

3 ‘‘section 2266’’ and inserting ‘‘section 2267’’. 

4 SEC. 5. NATIONAL STUDY OF USE OF GEOLOCATION DATA 

5 IN VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The National Institute of Justice, 

7 in consultation with the Office on Violence Against Women, 

8 shall conduct a national study to examine the role of 

9 geolocation information in violence against women. 

10 (b) SCOPE.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The study conducted under 

12 subsection (a) shall examine the role that various new 

13 technologies that use geolocation information may 

14 have in the facilitation of domestic violence, dating 

15 violence, sexual assault, or stalking, including, but 

16 not limited to— 

17 (A) global positioning system technology; 

18 (B) smartphone mobile applications; 

19 (C) in-car navigation devices; and 

20 (D) geo-tagging technology. 

21 (2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The study conducted 

22 under subsection (a) shall propose recommendations 

23 to improve the effectiveness of the responses of Fed24 eral, State, tribal, and local law enforcement agencies 

25 to the conduct described in paragraph (1). 


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1 (c) CONSULTATION.—The Attorney General, acting 

2 through the Director of the Office on Violence Against 

3 Women and the Director of the National Institute of Justice, 

4 shall consult with representatives from the Federal agencies, 

5 offices of State attorneys general, national victim advocacy 

6 organizations and the industries related to the technologies 

7 described in subsection (b)(1) to assist in the development 

8 and implementation of the study conducted under sub9 section (a) and guide implementation of the recommenda10 tions proposed under subsection (b)(3). 

11 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

12 of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit 

13 to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the 

14 Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives 

15 a report that describes the results of the study conducted 

16 under subsection (a). 

17 SEC. 6. GEOLOCATION CRIME INFORMATION AND REPORT18 ING. 

19 (a) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Attorney General shall 

20 direct the Internet Crime Complaint Center to provide edu21 cation and awareness information to the public and law 

22 enforcement and register complaints regarding the abuse of 

23 geolocation information to commit domestic violence, dat24 ing violence, sexual assault, stalking, or other related 

25 crimes. 


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1 (b) CONSULTATIONS.—In determining what informa2 tion will be provided to the public and collected in com3 plaints under subsection (a), the Attorney General shall 

4 consult with nongovernmental entities that have dem5 onstrated expertise relating to the abuse of the Internet or 

6 geolocation information to commit stalking, domestic vio7 lence, dating violence, sexual assault, or other related 

8 crimes. 

9 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the date 

10 of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit 

11 to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the 

12 Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives 

13 a report that discusses and summarizes the information col14 lected in complaints filed under subsection (a). 

15 SEC. 7. NATIONAL GEOLOCATION CURRICULUM TRAINING. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General, through the 

17 Director of the Office on Violence Against Women, may 

18 make grants to entities to develop and provide training to 

19 law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges, and victim 

20 service personnel throughout the United States regarding 

21 relevant Federal, State, territorial, or local law and prom22 ising practices, procedures, and policies relating to inves23 tigating and prosecuting the misuse of geolocation informa24 tion in the commission of stalking, domestic violence, dating 

25 violence, sexual assault, and other crimes. 


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1 (b) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity desiring a grant 

2 under this section shall submit an application to the Attor3 ney General at such time, in such manner, and accom4 panied by such information as the Attorney General may 

5 reasonably require. 


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Calendar No. 567 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1223 

A BILL 

To address voluntary location tracking of electronic 

communications devices, and for other purposes. 

DECEMBER 17, 2012 

Reported with an amendment 


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