New Congressional Bi-Partisan Privacy Proposal Introduced

A new bi-partisan privacy bill has been introduced by Senators Wyden (D-OR) and Paul (R-KY) titled “The Fourth Amendment is Not For Sale Act.” The bill proposes to close a legal loophole and prevent law enforcement and intelligence agencies from obtaining subscriber or customer records in exchange for anything of value, and to address communications and records in the possession of intermediary internet service providers. Currently, this information can be exchanged without judicial oversight.  

According to the press release, some highlights of the proposal include: 

• 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. As such, this bill prevents the government 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.

• Ensures that intelligence agencies acquiring data on Americans do so within the framework of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and that when acquiring Americans’ location data, web browsing records and search history, intelligence agencies obtain probable cause orders. This language is similar to language that was in the 2020 Wyden-Daines amendment to legislation to reform Section 215.

• 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. 

Lanton Law is a national boutique law and lobbying firm that focuses on technology and healthcare. If you are an industry stakeholder with questions about the current landscape or if you would like to discuss how your organization’s strategic initiatives might be impacted by either Congress, regulatory agencies or legal decisions, contact us today.