Uploading documents to Dropbox, sharing photos over Snapchat or sending videos over Marco Polo feels safe enough to many cellphone users, but civil liberties advocates say privacy laws haven’t kept up with evolving technology.
A bill now in the Utah House of Representatives attempts to strengthen these protections by requiring police to get a warrant before they can access electronic data shared with third parties, such as phone apps or remote storage services. But the proposal’s wording is a source of concern to some state law enforcement and local prosecutors, who say it could hamper their ability to catch criminals and other lawbreakers.