Protecting Privacy: The Fourth Amendment is Not for Sale Act

A proposed bill, officially titled the Fourth Amendment is Not for Sale Act, aims to close a significant legal gap. This loophole currently allows intelligence and law enforcement bodies to access substantial amounts of private, identifying information without proper legal authorization.

New Legislation and Court Orders

Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Rand Paul (R-KY) are the primary sponsors of this new legislation. The bill would mandate that government agencies secure a court order before accessing data procured from data brokers. Currently, such orders are already required when seeking comparable data directly from mobile carriers and technology companies.

Wyden emphasized the inconsistency in current practices. He stated that information acquired through data brokers shouldn’t be treated differently than data held by conventional service providers like phone or email companies. He further characterized the loophole as a means for law enforcement to bypass the protections of the Fourth Amendment.

Constitutional Rights and Concerns

Senator Paul voiced criticism regarding the government’s utilization of the data broker loophole. He argued that it undermines the constitutional rights of American citizens. Paul asserted that the Fourth Amendment safeguards against unreasonable searches and seizures, protecting individual liberties from arbitrary government action or financial maneuvering.

Restrictions on Data Acquisition

A crucial aspect of the bill involves prohibiting law enforcement from purchasing data obtained through illicit means. This includes data acquired via hacking, breaches of terms of service agreements, or unauthorized access to user accounts or devices.

Addressing Controversial Practices

This provision directly addresses the practices of companies like Clearview AI. Clearview AI is a highly debated technology firm that provides access to a facial recognition search engine. The platform amasses facial images scraped from various online sources, including social media platforms, and then sells access to this data to police departments and federal agencies, such as ICE.

Clearview’s data collection methods have repeatedly violated the terms of service of major social media networks. Companies like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google have all condemned Clearview’s practices and have issued cease-and-desist orders.

Expanding Privacy Protections

The bill also seeks to broaden the scope of privacy laws. It would extend these laws to encompass infrastructure companies that manage cell towers and data cables. Furthermore, it aims to eliminate loopholes that permit intelligence agencies to obtain metadata from international communications without FISA court oversight.

Agencies would also be required to demonstrate probable cause before obtaining location and web browsing history data.

Bipartisan Support and Legislative Progress

This legislation has already garnered significant bipartisan support. Key co-sponsors include Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Bernie Sanders, alongside Republicans Mike Lee and Steve Daines. A companion bill has also been introduced in the House of Representatives.

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