Privacy And The 4th Amendment Under Attack: How Lawmakers Are Fighting For Us Against Government Snooping And Buying Our Data

Written By BlabberBuzz | Friday, 07 July 2023 10:25 AM
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Privacy And The 4th Amendment Under Attack: How Lawmakers Are Fighting For Us Against Government Snooping And Buying Our Data

Reps. Warren Davidson (R-OH) and Sara Jacobs (D-CA) have introduced an amendment aimed at preventing the federal government from purchasing Americans' private information, a practice that privacy advocates argue circumvents the Fourth Amendment.

The amendment, which has gained increasing support, is being attached to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a must-pass spending bill.

According to Davidson, the amendment is necessary to protect the Constitutionally protected right to privacy and to prevent the government from bypassing the Fourth Amendment by acquiring personal data such as location data, browsing history, and online activity.

Jacobs echoed this sentiment, stating that our search and browsing history, as well as location data, should be off-limits to the government. She expressed her pride in working with Davidson to rein in mass surveillance and put an end to warrantless searches and seizures of private information.

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The proposal for the amendment comes in response to a report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which revealed that intelligence and law enforcement agencies have been purchasing data on Americans.

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) criticized this practice, calling it a deliberate attempt to bypass constitutional protections against warrantless searches.

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The Davidson-Jacobs amendment seeks to prohibit law enforcement agencies from exchanging anything of value for information that would require a warrant, court order, or subpoena.

This includes web browsing and internet search data, location data, and other information derived from cell phones.

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Several other representatives have expressed their support for the amendment, including Reps. Nancy Mace (R-SC), Kelly Armstrong (R-ND), Ben Cline (R-VA), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), and Veronica Escobar (D-TX).

This is not the first time that Jacobs and Davidson have proposed measures to protect Americans' privacy. Last year, they introduced an amendment that would have required the U.S. military to disclose how often it purchases American cell phone and web browsing data. However, it was not included in the final version of the NDAA.

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During a hearing in March, Rep. Cline questioned Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz about the FBI's purchase of American geolocation data. He also asked Attorney General Merrick Garland about this controversy during a House Appropriations Committee hearing.

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Cline referred to the landmark 2018 Supreme Court ruling in Carpenter v. United States, which held that a search warrant was required for the government to track suspects for an extended period using cellphone carriers.

He asked Garland if he agreed with Horowitz that the purchase of Americans' private data should not have occurred after this ruling.

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