California’s state legislature has passed the Location Privacy Act of 2012, Ars Technica reports. The law requires law enforcement agencies to obtain a search warrant before gathering GPS or other location-tracking data that a suspect’s cell phone may be transmitting, the report states. Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) sponsored the bill along with California’s ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). The bill now moves to Gov. Jerry Brown for a signature. Brown vetoed a similar initiative in 2011, however. Earlier this week, California passed a bill protecting students from having to provide access to their social media accounts. Editor’s note: Three of California’s foremost figures in privacy will speak at the upcoming IAPP Privacy Academy—Joanne McNabb, Director of Privacy Education and Policy at the California Office of the Attorney General’s Privacy Enforcement and Protection Unit; Travis LeBlanc, Special Assistant Attorney General of California, and State Sen. Joe Simitian of California’s 11th District.
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