DETROIT – The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan
urged the Michigan State Police (MSP) this week to release information
regarding the use of certain portable devices which can be used to secretly
extract personal information from cell phones during routine stops. For nearly
three years, the ACLU has repeatedly asked for this information through dozens
of Freedom of Information Act requests, but to date it has not been provided.

“Transparency and government accountability are the
bedrocks of our democracy,” said Mark P. Fancher, ACLU of Michigan Racial
Justice Project staff attorney. “Through these many requests for
information we have tried to establish whether these devices are being used
legally. It’s telling that Michigan State Police would rather play this
stalling game than respect the public’s right to know.”

Several years ago, MSP acquired portable devices that have
the potential to quickly download data from cell phones without the owner of
the cellphone knowing. The ACLU of Michigan expressed concern about the
possible constitutional implications of using these devices to conduct
suspicionless searches without consent or a search warrant.

In August 2008, the ACLU of Michigan filed its first FOIA
request to acquire records, reports and logs of actual use. Documents provided
in response confirmed the existence of these devices, but MSP claimed that the
cost of retrieving and assembling the documents that disclose how five of the
devices are being used is $544,680. The ACLU was then asked to pay a $272,340
deposit before the organization could receive a single document.  In order to reduce the cost, the ACLU
of Michigan narrowed the scope of its request. However, each time the ACLU
submitted more narrow requests, MSP claimed that no documents exist for that
time period and then it refused to reveal when the devices were used so a
proper request could be made.

“We should not have to go on expensive fishing
expeditions in order to discover whether police are violating the rights of
residents they have resolved to protect and serve,” said Fancher.

According to CelleBrite, the manufacturer of at least some
of the devices acquired by MSP, the product can extract a wide variety of data
from cellphones including contacts, text messages, deleted text messages, call
history, pictures, audio and video recordings, phone details including the
phone number and complete memory file dumps on some handsets.

In its three-page letter, the ACLU of Michigan explained
that the use of such devices may violate Fourth Amendment protections against
unreasonable searches if a warrant is not issued. In addition, the organization
would like to determine if MSP is disproportionally downloading the personal
information of people of color.

Recently, the national ACLU took on a similar issue
challenging a federal policy of searching, copying and detaining travelers’
laptops, cell phones and other electronic devices at airports and the border
without suspicion of wrongdoing. 

To read more about the national ACLU’s case challenging
laptop searches, go to:
//www.aclu.org/free-speech-technology-and-liberty/abidor-v-napolitano.