AUGUSTA— Maine law enforcement will have to get search warrants to gather voicemails, text messages or data about someone’s recent location from a cellphone under two new laws that take effect this week.
The laws go into effect Wednesday, 90 days after the end of the legislative session in July.
Supporters say the measures are essential because the related federal law is woefully out of date, leaving residents’ privacy vulnerable as technology has advanced.
But Attorney General Janet Mills’ office and Maine State Police fiercely opposed the bills last session, saying they are both unnecessary and could hamper criminal investigations.
The new laws also require law enforcement to notify someone within three days if their information has been collected, unless they can prove it would adversely impact an investigation.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.