The House on Wednesday passed legislation to ban the government from purchasing Americans’ private data from data brokers, which is considered a run around the Fourth Amendment.
The House on Wednesday passed H.R. 4639, the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act, 219-199, with one present. The legislation would bar intelligence and law enforcement agencies from purchasing Americans’ private data through third-party data brokers.
“Despite opposition from the Biden White House, the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act represents a bipartisan and bicameral agreement that American citizens deserve to have their rights protected by their government. Congress must pass this bill to ensure that the unconstitutional sale of Americans’ data without a warrant is ended,” Davidson told Breitbart News before the passage of the bill.
Davidson and Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) have told Breitbart News that intelligence and law enforcement’s purchasing of Americans’ data is a run around the Fourth Amendment.
Watch: Rep. Warren Davidson Discusses Data Broker Loophole
Davidson’s proposal was supposed to be included as an amendment to the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act (RISAA), a bill to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA); however, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson made it so that the amendment could not be considered. The legislation, instead, had to be considered on its own merits on the House floor.
Nevertheless, the bill passed through Congress’s lower chamber.
The bill’s passage represents a bipartisan victory for the conservative-progressive partnership against government surveillance.
Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA), who co-led the bill, wrote, “Our rights shouldn’t have a price tag. That’s why we need to pass the bipartisan 4th Amendment Is Not For Sale Act – that I’m so proud to co-lead – and close the data broker loophole that allows intelligence agencies to buy our personal information.”
Our rights shouldn’t have a price tag. That’s why we need to pass the bipartisan 4th Amendment Is Not For Sale Act – that I’m so proud to co-lead – and close the data broker loophole that allows intelligence agencies to buy our personal information. pic.twitter.com/x1xeIfC0o1
— Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (@RepSaraJacobs) April 17, 2024
Closing the data broker loophole is a very popular move among Americans.
A YouGov poll commissioned by FreedomWorks and Demand Progress found that 80 percent of Americans back closing the data broker loophole, while only ten percent oppose.
Watch — Rep. Andy Biggs: CDC Purchased $420k Worth of Data to Surveil Americans During the Coronavirus Pandemic
U.S. House of Representatives
Second Amendment groups such as Gun Owners of America backed the legislation.
The group wrote, “The House of Representatives just passed the GOA-backed Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act 219-199—a win for the 2nd and 4th Amendments.”
🚨BREAKING 🚨
The House of Representatives just passed the GOA-backed Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act 219-199—a win for the 2nd and 4th Amendments. pic.twitter.com/sSKerupuLw
— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) April 17, 2024
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.