I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3470 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to specify the circumstances in 
which a person may acquire geolocation information, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 27, 2017 
Mr. FARENTHOLD introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Permanent Select 
Committee on Intelligence, for a period to be subsequently determined by 
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with-
in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to specify the cir-
cumstances in which a person may acquire geolocation 
information, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Geolocational Privacy 
and Surveillance Act’’ or the ‘‘GPS Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF GEOLOCATION INFORMATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part 1 of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended by inserting after chapter 119 the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘CHAPTER 120—GEOLOCATION 
INFORMATION 
‘‘Sec. 
‘‘2601. Definitions. 
‘‘2602. Interception and disclosure of geolocation information. 
‘‘2603. Prohibition of use as evidence of acquired geolocation information. 
‘‘2604. Emergency situation exception. 
‘‘2605. Recovery of civil damages authorized. 
‘‘§ 2601. Definitions 
‘‘In this chapter: 
‘‘(1) ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION SERVICE.— 
The term ‘electronic communication service’ has the 
meaning given that term in section 2510. 
‘‘(2) ELECTRONIC
SURVEILLANCE.—The term 
‘electronic surveillance’ has the meaning given that 
term in section 101 of the Foreign Intelligence Sur-
veillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801). 
‘‘(3) GEOLOCATION INFORMATION.—The term 
‘geolocation information’ means, with respect to a 
person, any information that is not the content of a 
communication, concerning the location of a wireless 
communication device or tracking device (as that 
term is defined section 3117) that, in whole or in 
part, is generated by or derived from the operation 
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of that device and that could be used to determine 
or infer information regarding the location of the 
person. 
‘‘(4) GEOLOCATION
INFORMATION
SERVICE.— 
The term ‘geolocation information service’ means the 
provision of a global positioning service or other 
mapping, locational, or directional information serv-
ice to the public, or to such class of users as to be 
effectively available to the public, by or through the 
operation of any wireless communication device, in-
cluding any mobile telephone, global positioning sys-
tem receiving device, mobile computer, or other simi-
lar or successor device. 
‘‘(5) INTERCEPT.—The term ‘intercept’ means 
the acquisition of geolocation information through 
the use of any electronic, mechanical, or other de-
vice. 
‘‘(6) INVESTIGATIVE
OR
LAW
ENFORCEMENT 
OFFICER.—The term ‘investigative or law enforce-
ment officer’ means any officer of the United States 
or of a State or political subdivision thereof, who is 
empowered by law to conduct investigations of, or to 
make arrests for, offenses enumerated in this chap-
ter, and any attorney authorized by law to prosecute 
or participate in the prosecution of such offenses. 
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‘‘(7) PERSON.—The term ‘person’ means any 
employee or agent of the United States, or any State 
or political subdivision thereof, and any individual, 
partnership, association, joint stock company, trust, 
or corporation. 
‘‘(8) REMOTE COMPUTING SERVICE.—The term 
‘remote computing service’ has the meaning given 
that term in section 2711. 
‘‘(9) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means any 
State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any territory 
or possession of the United States. 
‘‘(10) WIRELESS
COMMUNICATION
DEVICE.— 
The term ‘wireless communication device’ means any 
device that enables access to, or use of, an electronic 
communication system or service, remote computing 
service, or geolocation information service, if that de-
vice utilizes a radio or other wireless connection to 
access such system or service. 
‘‘(11) COVERED SERVICE.—The term ‘covered 
services’ means electronic communication service, re-
mote computing service, or geolocation information 
service. 
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through (h), except as provided in such sub-
sections; 
‘‘(ii) knowing or having reason to know 
that the information was obtained through the 
interception of such information in connection 
with a criminal investigation; 
‘‘(iii) having obtained or received the infor-
mation in connection with a criminal investiga-
tion; and 
‘‘(iv) with intent to improperly obstruct, 
impede, or interfere with a duly authorized 
criminal investigation. 
‘‘(2) PENALTY.—Any person who violates para-
graph (1) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned 
not more than five years, or both. 
‘‘(b) EXCEPTION FOR INFORMATION ACQUIRED IN 
THE NORMAL COURSE OF BUSINESS.—It shall not be un-
lawful under this chapter for an officer, employee, or agent 
of a provider of covered services, whose facilities are used 
in the transmission of geolocation information, to inter-
cept, disclose, or use that information in the normal course 
of the officer, employee, or agent’s employment while en-
gaged in any activity which is a necessary incident to the 
rendition of service or to the protection of the rights or 
property of the provider of that service, except that a pro-
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vider of a geolocation information service to the public 
shall not utilize service observing or random monitoring 
except for mechanical or service quality control checks. 
‘‘(c) EXCEPTION FOR CONDUCTING FOREIGN INTEL-
LIGENCE SURVEILLANCE.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of this chapter, it shall not be unlawful for an 
officer, employee, or agent of the United States in the nor-
mal course of the official duty of the officer, employee, 
or agent to conduct electronic surveillance, as authorized 
by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 
U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 
‘‘(d) EXCEPTION FOR CONSENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—It shall not be unlawful 
under this chapter for a person to intercept 
geolocation information pertaining to another person 
if such other person has given prior consent to such 
interception unless such information is intercepted 
for the purpose of committing any criminal or 
tortious act in violation of the Constitution or laws 
of the United States or of any State. 
‘‘(2) CHILDREN.—The exception in paragraph 
(1) permits a parent or legal guardian of a child to 
intercept geolocation information pertaining to that 
child or to give consent for another person to inter-
cept such information. 
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‘‘(e) EXCEPTION
FOR PUBLIC INFORMATION.—It 
shall not be unlawful under this chapter for any person 
to intercept or access geolocation information relating to 
another person through any system that is configured so 
that such information is readily accessible to the general 
public. 
‘‘(f) EXCEPTION FOR EMERGENCY INFORMATION.— 
It shall not be unlawful under this chapter for any inves-
tigative or law enforcement officer or other emergency re-
sponder to intercept or access geolocation information re-
lating to a person if such information is used— 
‘‘(1) to respond to a request made by such per-
son for assistance; or 
‘‘(2) in circumstances in which it is reasonable 
to believe that the life or safety of the person is 
threatened, to assist the person. 
‘‘(g) EXCEPTION FOR THEFT OR FRAUD.—It shall 
not be unlawful under this chapter for a person acting 
under color of law to intercept geolocation information 
pertaining to the location of another person who has un-
lawfully taken the device sending the geolocation informa-
tion if— 
‘‘(1) the owner or operator of such device au-
thorizes the interception of the person’s geolocation 
information; 
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‘‘(2) the person acting under color of law is 
lawfully engaged in an investigation; and 
‘‘(3) the person acting under color of law has 
reasonable grounds to believe that the geolocation 
information of the other person will be relevant to 
the investigation. 
‘‘(h) EXCEPTION FOR WARRANT.— 
‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) COURT
OF
COMPETENT
JURISDIC-
TION.—The term ‘court of competent jurisdic-
tion’ includes— 
‘‘(i) any district court of the United 
States (including a magistrate judge of 
such a court) or any United States court 
of appeals that— 
‘‘(I) has jurisdiction over the of-
fense being investigated; 
‘‘(II) is in or for a district in 
which the provider of a geolocation in-
formation service is located or in 
which the geolocation information is 
stored; or 
‘‘(III) is acting on a request for 
foreign assistance pursuant to section 
3512 of this title; or 
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‘‘(ii) a court of general criminal juris-
diction of a State authorized by the law of 
that State to issue search warrants. 
‘‘(B) GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY.—The term 
‘governmental entity’ means a department or 
agency of the United States or any State or po-
litical subdivision thereof. 
‘‘(2) WARRANT.—A governmental entity may 
intercept geolocation information or require the dis-
closure by a provider of covered services of 
geolocation information only pursuant to a warrant 
issued using the procedures described in the Federal 
Rules of Criminal Procedure (or, in the case of a 
State court, issued using State warrant procedures) 
by a court of competent jurisdiction, or as otherwise 
provided in this chapter or the Foreign Intelligence 
Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 
‘‘(i) PROHIBITION ON DIVULGING GEOLOCATION IN-
FORMATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), a person providing covered services shall 
not intentionally divulge geolocation information per-
taining to another person. 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—A person providing covered 
services may divulge geolocation information— 
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