As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States, let us renew our commitment to the Fourth Amendment. Our founders understood that information is power and that the government’s access to information about your life needed limits. Investigators are not neutral arbiters of how far they should be allowed to pry – left unchecked, that bias turns into abuse. It always has, even with the best intentions.
Here is how the Third-Party Loophole works: Every time you use a bank, phone, app or website, information such as your location, finances and behavior patterns is recorded by private companies. Courts have ruled that you “voluntarily” surrendered Fourth Amendment protections by sharing that data – even when you had no real choice. Federal agencies then purchase that intimate data directly from brokers, bypassing judges entirely, with no probable cause required.
The solution is H.R. 8470, the Surveillance Accountability Act, introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and co-sponsored by Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado. Introduced in April and currently in the House Judiciary Committee, the bill says that if the government wants to search your life, it needs a warrant. And if it doesn’t get one, you can hold it accountable. That’s it. That’s the bill.
Contact Rep. Jeff Hurd and your senators and urge them to support it.
Lenny Papineau
Durango