Groups Say Bipartisan Backing Will Boost Location Privacy Bill

Supporters of legislation that would restrict government access to location data got a boost on Tuesday when Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill, signed on as the measure’s first Republican Senate cosponsor. The bill, introduced in June by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., would require government agencies to obtain a warrant before they can gather both real-time and stored location data about people. Wyden and Kirk say the nation’s laws have not kept up with rapid use of new technologies such as smart phones and iPads that allow citizens to be connected wherever they go – and their locations to be tracked.