From ACLU <[email protected]>
Subject The government is buying your data. Here's how to fight back.
Date August 1, 2022 5:00 PM
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Take action today to protect your privacy rights now.

ACLU Supporter –

You might be aware that the smartphone apps you use every day collect sensitive data – including your location over time. But did you also know that government agencies like ICE, CBP, and others can buy and use this data from commercial brokers without you even realizing?

Last week, we updated you on the thousands of pages of documents that ACLU's litigation extracted from DHS – records that made abundantly clear government agencies are spending millions of taxpayer dollars to obtain our most private information without a warrant so they can identify and track people.

This unconstitutional practice evades the Fourth Amendment and a Supreme Court precedent that protects similar cell phone location data against warrantless government access. It is a blatant threat to our privacy rights.

That's why more than ever, we need Congress to pass the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act – a critically important bill that will require the government to secure a court order before obtaining people's data from data brokers. Please, send a message to your members of Congress now and tell them to pass this bill without delay. <[link removed]>

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ACLU Supporter, we know this massive privacy invasion by our government does not end with DHS. We know the IRS, the FBI, and other offices are implicated in these disturbing actions as well.

More alarming is how this affects all of us. The government is exploiting data sources that include gaming apps with data that can be used to target children – and a Muslim prayer app that can be used to target Americans by their religion. Communities of color, more reliant on cell phones for access to the internet, are also disproportionately impacted by these egregious acts.

That's why the Fourth Amendment Is Not for Sale Act is so critical. In addition to preventing government agencies from buying their way around important legal protections, this bill would:

* Stop law enforcement and intelligence agencies from buying personal data from brokers if the data was obtained from a user's account or device, or obtained via deception, hacking, violations of a contract, privacy policy, or terms of service

* Extend existing privacy laws to infrastructure firms that own data cables and cell towers

* Take 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 would retain immunity where a court orders them to assist with surveillance.

ACLU Supporter, each day without action only allows the government's access to this covert trove of our personal information to grow – we must do all we can to make sure our members of Congress know we need them to take action. So send your message today and tell them to defend our privacy rights now. <[link removed]>

Thank you for taking action,

Patrick Toomey
Pronouns: He, him, his
Deputy Director, National Security Project, ACLU

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