Kansas Newspaper Editorial Board Sides With ACLU on Kelsey Smith Act, Urges Changes
A Kansas editorial board sided with the American Civil Liberties Union in advocating additional privacy protections for the Kelsey Smith Act (HR-4889). Rep. Kevin Yoder, R-Kan., sponsored the legislation, especially popular among the Kansas delegation. Kelsey Smith, the murdered woman…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
for whom the bill is named, was abducted in Kansas. That bill failed in a House floor vote Monday under suspension of the rules, a process that required a supermajority. Despite a majority of House lawmakers favoring the bill, several Democrats and Republicans voted against the measure due to what they considered insufficient privacy protections (see 1605240061). The Topeka Capital-Journal editorial board backs “judicial review of all cases in which emergency location data was accessed by law enforcement,” it said. “If this is part of the bill, it will deter law enforcement officials from abusing the emergency disclosure requirement (the ACLU cites cases in California, Texas, New York and Maryland where this has happened). Moreover, individuals should be able to seek judicial redress when their location data is wrongfully accessed. The Kelsey Smith Act could save many lives, but it should only be passed if extensive safeguards are in place.” Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., sponsor of the Senate companion, has tweeted about the measure all week responding to National Missing Children's Day Wednesday. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., became the bill’s third Senate co-sponsor this week. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., became the second earlier this month, joining Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan. No new floor vote for the House measure has been scheduled.