Citing a practice in which the FBI illicitly spies on Americans by buying consumer data to collect information it can't get through a legally-required warrant, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators are now looking to rein in rogue agents.
In response, U.S. Senators Rand Paul (R-KY) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) reintroduced the “Fourth Amendment is Not For Sale Act,” following the bill's unanimous passage in the House Judiciary Committee.
First introduced in 2021, the bill blocks the government from purchasing information about Americans that would otherwise require a warrant.
The bill is cosponsored by Sens. Brian Schatz (D-HI), Mike Lee (R-UT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Jon Tester (D-MT).
“The Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable search and seizure ensures that the liberty of every American cannot be violated on the whims, or financial transactions, of every government officer,” said Paul.
“This critical legislation will put an end to the government's practice of buying its way around the Bill of Rights by purchasing the personal and location data of everyday Americans. Enacting the Fourth Amendment is Not For Sale Act will not only stop this gross abuse of privacy, but also stands for the fundamental principle that government exists to protect, not trade away, individual rights,” said Paul
“Americans of all political stripes know their Constitutional rights shouldn't disappear in the digital age. The bipartisan Fourth Amendment is Not for Sale Act puts protections against government agencies purchasing their data into black-letter law,” said Wyden.
“Even during one of the most polarized political environments of my lifetime, the House Judiciary Committee passed our bill on a unanimous vote. There is a deep well of support for bolstering Americans' privacy, and I will look for every available avenue to advance protections for Americans' personal data, both in this bill and omnibus surveillance legislation this fall,” Wyden concluded.
Another bipartisan group of lawmakers, U.S. Reps. Warren Davidson (R-OH), Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Ken Buck (R-CO), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Thomas Massie (R-KY), and Sara Jacobs (D-CA), cosponsored the legislation in the House.
According to Paul, the Fourth Amendment is Not For Sale Act would:
Requires the government to get a court order to compel data brokers to disclose data — the same kind of court order needed to compel data from tech and phone companies.
Stops law enforcement and intelligence agencies buying data on people in the U.S. and about Americans abroad, if the data was obtained from a user's account or device, or via deception, hacking, violations of a contract, privacy policy, or terms of service, preventing the government from buying data from Clearview.AI.
Extends existing privacy laws to infrastructure firms that own data cables & cell towers.
Closes loopholes that would permit the intelligence community to buy or otherwise acquire metadata about Americans' international calls, texts and emails to family and friends abroad, without any FISA Court review.
Takes away the Attorney General's authority to grant civil immunity to providers and other third parties for assistance with surveillance not required or permitted by statute. Providers retain immunity for surveillance assistance ordered by a court.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
DO SO & soon