SB 97: Eavesdropping; limitations regarding the use of electronic monitoring devices; provide

Georgia law already makes it illegal to secretly place a GPS device on someone's car when that person has a protective order against you. This bill broadens that rule. It adds a new paragraph to the state's eavesdropping law (O.C.G.A. § 16-11-62) making it illegal for anyone to secretly place any electronic monitoring device to track another person's physical location without that person's lawful consent, regardless of whether a protective order exists. The bill carves out several exceptions: vehicle or aircraft owners who consent to tracking, U.S. military personnel doing their official duties, parents or guardians tracking a child or incapacitated person under their legal care (as long as the person is under 21 or incapacitated), mobile phone or data companies providing location services, and trackers installed by vehicle or aircraft manufacturers. It also states that automated license plate reader systems are not covered by this Code section at all. The bill repeals conflicting laws but does not state a specific effective date.

• Adds a new criminal prohibition against secretly placing any electronic monitoring device to track a person's physical location without their consent.
• Expands the existing GPS-tracking crime, which previously applied only to vehicles and only when a protective order was in place, to cover tracking of people generally.
• Creates five exceptions covering vehicle or aircraft owner consent, military duties, parental tracking of minors or incapacitated dependents, mobile phone location services, and manufacturer-installed devices.
• Exempts automated license plate recognition systems entirely from the eavesdropping statute.
• Updates the catch-all provision banning similar privacy-invading acts to reference the newly renumbered paragraphs.

Anyone who places or is targeted by a tracking device, including domestic violence survivors, parents and guardians of minors or incapacitated dependents, vehicle and aircraft owners and lienholders, mobile phone and data service providers, vehicle manufacturers, and law enforcement agencies using license plate readers.

Currently a person can only be prosecuted for secret GPS tracking of a vehicle if the target has a protective order. This bill would let prosecutors charge anyone who secretly tracks another person's location without consent, closing a gap while still protecting parents monitoring children and businesses providing normal location services.

• Section 1 relabels the opening unlawful acts list as subsection (a) and keeps the existing GPS-on-vehicle tracking crime tied to protective orders as paragraph (8).
• New paragraph (9) makes it unlawful to secretly place any electronic monitoring device to track a person's physical location without their lawful consent.
• Exception (A) allows tracking when the vehicle or aircraft's owner, lessor, lessee, or lienholder has consented to the device.
• Exception (C) allows a parent, legal guardian, or person acting in loco parentis to track a child or dependent under 21 or an incapacitated individual in their care.
• Exception (D) exempts mobile telephone or data service providers determining a device or vehicle's location.
• Exception (E) exempts devices installed by vehicle or aircraft manufacturers.
• New subsection (b) states the entire Code section does not apply to automated license plate recognition systems as defined in O.C.G.A. § 35-1-22.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-02-05Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2025-02-04Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Ed Setzler (R, SD-037)Primary sponsor

• electronic surveillance
• GPS tracking
• privacy law
• domestic violence protections
• license plate readers