Baker renews push to update state's wiretap law - Eagle-Tribune
BOSTON — Gov. Charlie Baker is making another push to update the state’s antiquated wiretapping laws to include smart phones and other technologies as part of a broader effort to target drug gangs and human traffickers.
Baker’s proposal, which will be heard by the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, would expand the definition of organized crime beyond traditional Mafia activity and allow police to ask judges for wiretaps on narcotics and human trafficking networks.
Massachusetts’ wiretapping law, which dates to 1968, is among the most restrictive in the nation, law enforcement officials say. It gives police the power “under strict judicial supervision” to conduct surveillance on organized crime.
Unlike the federal Wiretap Act, which has been updated to include cell phones and other forms of communication, the state’s law has not been amended.
State prosecutors have pushed unsuccessfully for years to update the law, which they say is still stuck in the bygone days of “La Cosa Nostra” when mafiosos and other violent offenders used 20th century technology to communicate.
Rep. Paul Tucker, D-Salem, who is running for Essex County district attorney, is among those on Beacon Hill who support updating the wiretap law.
“The original wiretap statute is decades old and we really need to update it,” said Tucker, who has filed similar legislation in the past. “The technologies have changed but the law has not kept up with it.”
Baker’s plan would expand the list of communications covered by the wiretap law to include “wireless, electronic, digital, radio, electromagnetic, satellite, cellular, optical or other technological means.”
It would also expand the list of offenses eligible for a judge to sign off on a wiretap warrant to include illegal trafficking in weapons, illegal possession of explosives or chemical, radiological or biological weapons, civil rights violations “causing bodily injury” and witness intimidation, among other charges.
But the issue is controversial, both in the state and nationally. Civil liberties groups and others have questioned potential privacy violations and the possibility that police could abuse the authority.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts has argued that expanded monitoring of cell phone traffic raises legal and constitutional questions, particularly when police act without judicial orders.
“Any expansion of surveillance powers to enable wiretapping of private communications in investigations not related to ‘organized crime’ would have far-reaching negative effects on Bay Staters’ civil rights and civil liberties,” said Kade Crockford, director of the Technology for Liberty program at the ACLU of Massachusetts.
In recent years, the debate over phone surveillance has focused on the federal government’s counterterrorism operations. A once-secret program authorized after the Sept. 11 attacks allowed the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on phone calls of terrorism suspects and monitor phone and email traffic without court warrants.
In recent rulings, the state Supreme Judicial Court has acknowledged that Massachusetts’ wiretap statute is vaguely written.
In 2011, the court said it does not allow law enforcement to wiretap in cases involving street gangs because the statute only covers organized crime. Two years later, it ruled that the statute might allow a judge to issue wiretap warrants for the interception of cell phone calls and text messages.
Defense lawyers have disputed that, however, because the state’s wiretap law does not mention wireless communications.
In 2021, Attorney General Maura Healey’s office received approval from the state Superior Court for 28 electronic surveillance warrants, which resulted in nearly 73,000 intercepted communications, according to a recent report.
The AG’s Office said the wiretaps resulted in 126 indictments and 11 guilty pleas but were not presented for evidence at any jury trials.
Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at [email protected].
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source: https://www.eagletribune.com/news/baker-renews-push-to-update-states-wiretap-law/article_951febb4-8da2-11ec-8bfa-134fda1b1200.html
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