OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Fourth Amendment is Not for Sale Act

Floor Speech

Date: April 17, 2024
Location: Washington, DC

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Mr. CLYDE. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today to strongly support H.R. 4639, the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act. This critical bill would prohibit government agencies, including the intelligence community, from purchasing Americans' data from third-party data brokers.

U.S. Government agencies are purchasing Americans' data through a loophole with third-party groups when they would otherwise need a warrant. Recently, the Internal Revenue Service purchased records and locations of millions of American cell phones. The FBI purchased geolocation data for mobile advertising.

The Cato Institute recently reported that data brokers collect and sell huge amounts of Americans' sensitive information, including whether they have an interest in firearms. Data brokers sell lists--in their words--of ``shooting fanatics'' and ``concealed carry licensed gun owners.'' They even sell information about Americans' interest in political organizations.

Government agencies like the FBI purchase this information as a loophole to obtain private information about U.S. citizens without a warrant.

Mr. Chair, I am deeply concerned that the practice of buying commercial data could not only threaten Americans' Fourth Amendment rights but could also pose a threat to their Second Amendment freedoms and be used as a way to track and target lawful gun owners in America. We must prevent this.

H.R. 4639 will provide the necessary guardrails to ensure that these three-letter government agencies, including the intelligence community, do not and cannot overstep and infringe on Americans' constitutional rights.

Why can civilian companies buy this data but not the government without a warrant? Because the government can take away your liberties. The government can put you in jail. Civilian companies cannot do that.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to stand with the Constitution and support H.R. 4639, the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act.

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