(NewsWorthy.news) – The House has passed legislation to prevent the government from buying the private data of American citizens from data brokers, on the grounds that this disregards the Fourth Amendment.
On April 17 lawmakers managed to pass H.R. 4639, the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act, 219-199 despite opposition from President Joe Biden’s administration. The legislation bars law enforcement and intelligence agencies from acquiring Americans’ personal data from third parties. Republican Ohio Representative Warren Davidson stated shortly before the bill was passed that the act represents a bicameral and bipartisan agreement that respects the need to protect Americans’ rights from the U.S. government.
A ruling in March on selling of data raised further questions about national security, particularly regarding China, and the Chinese-owned platform TikTok, which could either force a sale of the app to an owner not linked to China’s regime or see the app banned in the United States. The Protecting Americans’ Data from Foreign Adversaries Act, H.R. 7520 data-privacy bill passed in March prohibits data brokers from selling Americans’ information onto Russia, China or any other “foreign adversaries”.
Progressives and conservatives argued along similar lines to the debate over Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, with members from both parties weighing up the importance of greater privacy protection compared to the benefits access to data gives law enforcement. Those supporting the latest bill argued that the government must get a warrant before acquiring the commercially available information to assist law enforcement activities.
Democratic New York Representative and co-sponsor of the bill Jerry Nadler commented that law enforcement could establish probable cause and obtain a warrant if they wish to access someone’s data. He noted that when law enforcement are allowed to simply buy the data of their subject, they do not need to show checks and balances and are not obligated to tell the court how they obtained the data either. Nadler stressed that the Fourth Amendment exists for a reason.
The Biden Administration has already been criticized for what many see as aggressive censorship and state surveillance, including Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who called the incumbent president a worse threat to democracy than former President Donald Trump. A Biden administration official claimed that the ruling makes it impossible for law enforcement and intelligence operations to access information they depend on that can be accessed by foreign intelligence agencies.
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