Biden against Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act before House vote
The Biden administration opposes the “Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act” prior to the House vote. The bill aims to restrict the intelligence community and law enforcement from accessing specific commercial data, with exceptions. It was initially an amendment to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act reauthorization, supported by Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) and privacy advocates. The Biden administration is against the “Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act” before the House vote. This bill seeks to limit access by the intelligence community and law enforcement to certain commercial data, with some exceptions. Originally part of the reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, it enjoys support from Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) and privacy advocates.
The Biden administration has announced its opposition to the “Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act” ahead of Wednesday’s vote on the bill.
The House is scheduled to have a stand-alone vote on Wednesday evening on the act, which began as an amendment to a previous bill reauthorizing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Sponsor Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) and other privacy hawks are pushing the measure.
“[The Act] generally would prohibit the intelligence community and law enforcement from obtaining certain commercially available information — subject only to narrow, unworkable exceptions,” a statement of administration policy opposing Davidson’s bill reads. “It does not affect the ability of foreign adversaries or the private sector to obtain and use the same information, thus negating any privacy benefit to U.S. persons while threatening America’s national security.”
The House passed FISA reauthorization after months of GOP infighting, and the Senate could pass it as well, sending the bill to President Joe Biden’s desk ahead of its Friday expiration.
Davidson’s bill would force federal agencies to obtain a court order to purchase commercially owned data of U.S. citizens, such as their online activity and location information. While its sponsors are mostly Republicans, House Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) is also a co-sponsor.
Backers hold that FISA risks violating Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures, but the intelligence community and Biden White House say the bill goes too far by restricting access to “commercially available” information.
“The administration has taken, and continues to take, comprehensive steps to address legitimate privacy concerns related to the unregulated proliferation of commercially available information,” the statement of administration policy reads.
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FISA reauthorization has been controversial, with former President Donald Trump urging Congress to “kill FISA” because “it was illegally used against me.” However, the Biden administration insists it will coordinate with Congress on appropriate uses of its powers.
“The administration looks forward to working with Congress on the responsible collection, retention, and use of commercially available information in ways that protect both privacy and national security,” it said.
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