Legislative Memo: Prohibiting Reverse Warrants

Reverse location and keyword warrants request the disclosure of multiple people’s private information simply because they were at a particular location during a specific time frame, or entered certain keywords into a search engine. Reverse warrants can place hundreds or thousands of unsuspecting and innocent people in the crosshairs of law enforcement, threatening their Fourth Amendment rights to be free from unreasonable government searches.

New York has the opportunity to put a stop to this kind of indiscriminate government surveillance. This bill would prohibit both reverse location and reverse keyword searches and warrants. The NYCLU strongly supports this legislation and calls for its immediate passage.