A device that would help authorities determine whether a person was unlawfully using their cellphone at the time of a traffic accident is being developed by an Israeli company.
Cellebrite, the same firm that some believe helped the Federal Bureau of Investigation to crack the iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters, is making the device, dubbed the “textalyzer,” according to a report by Ars Technica.
Though it hasn’t been fully-developed yet, the possibilities presented by the textalyzer are great enough that legislation is already being centered on the technology.
According to a statement from distracted driving awareness group Distracted Operators Risk Casualties, New York State Senator Terrence Murphy and Assembly Assistant Speaker Felix Ortiz have introduced a state bill that would make the Empire State the first in the country to force those involved in a traffic accident to hand their phone over to law enforcement for testing using the textalyzer.
Of course, the forced provision of a cell phone would cause a number of red flags pertaining to the privacy rights granted under the Fourth Amendment. That’s why Cellebrite is attempting to build the textalyzer so that it can determine whether the cell phone was being used during the time of the accident without obtaining information like text and phone conversations, photos, web browser history, and other private data.
If authorities need more information than whether or not the phone was being used right before the crash occurred—like if they wanted to know if hands-free technology was being used—they would need a warrant to obtain that type of information.
Distracted Operators Risk Casualties is co-founded by Ben Liberman, whose son Evan was killed in an accident caused by a distracted driver in 2011. Liberman’s group has worked with Murphy and Ortiz to create the new law, named “Evan’s Law.”
If Evan’s Law were to be approved, it would almost force drivers to provide “implied consent” allowing law enforcement to attempt to determine whether that person had been unlawfully using an electronic device during or right before the time of the accident. If the driver were to refuse law enforcement the right to conduct the test, that person’s license could be immediately suspended and later rescinded.