FBI: No warrants needed to track and intercept your cell phone

The Federal Bureau of Investigation says it should not be required to get a warrant to erect fake cell phone towers, called "stingrays," and use them to track cell phones' locations and users while intercepting the contents of calls and texts.

In response, Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) have released a letter to the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security asking for information on "the policies in place to protect the privacy interests of those whose information might be collected using these devices."

While nine states (Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin) have laws on the books that require warrants for this sort of tracking, the Senators are unlikely to get much sympathy for their cause from the Obama administration, which has argued there is "no reasonable expectation of privacy" in cell phone use.

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