{"id":2611985,"date":"2026-06-08T12:21:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T16:21:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-secs-mass-surveillance-of-investors-transactions-violates-first-amendment\/"},"modified":"2026-06-08T12:23:51","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T16:23:51","slug":"the-secs-mass-surveillance-of-investors-transactions-violates-first-amendment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-secs-mass-surveillance-of-investors-transactions-violates-first-amendment\/","title":{"rendered":"SEC&#8217;s Surveillance Of Investors Violates First Amendment"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-secs-mass-surveillance-of-investors-transactions-violates-first-amendment%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2611985&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The First Amendment protects associational privacy, and the government generally can\u2019t force people or groups to disclose who they support. But the Securities and Exchange Commission requires financial disclosures through its Consolidated audit trail (CAT), which the article describes as a vast surveillance system that lets the SEC monitor and store details of trillions of securities transactions in a searchable government database.<\/p>\n<p>The piece argues that the CAT is unconstitutional and unlawful, pointing to issues beyond the First Amendment-such as lack of congressional authorization or funding and alleged Fourth Amendment warrantless surveillance. It emphasizes that the associational freedom problem is especially serious because investing can reflect support for, or opposition to, businesses and organizations. The article likens the risk of compelled disclosure to Supreme Court cases like *NAACP v. Alabama* and *Americans for Prosperity v. Bonta*, where forced disclosure of supporters was deemed to threaten First Amendment freedoms. It also cites concerns that stored disclosure can be misused or exposed through hacks or leaks, referencing *First choice Women\u2019s Resource Centers v. davenport*.<\/p>\n<p>The author notes that the SEC has promised a \u201cthorough review\u201d and is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-admin-waives-26-federal-laws-to-allow-border-wall-construction-in-southern-texas\/\" title=\"Biden Admin exempts 26 laws for border wall construction in South Texas.\">soliciting public comments<\/a> on the CAT until June 15, 2026, but argues the SEC is unlikely to end the program voluntarily.It calls on the public to pressure the SEC to stop what it describes as unlawful mass surveillance of investors, warning that continued access to this sensitive information guarantees ongoing, irreparable violations of First Amendment rights.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The First Amendment forbids the government from forcing you to disclose the groups or organizations that you support. That is because the First Amendment guarantees our right to associate with others, and associational privacy is fundamental to that freedom. Nevertheless, in complete disregard for these associational rights, the Securities and Exchange Commission currently requires investors to disclose the businesses they support financially. No government agency has the authority to compel Americans to disclose the companies in which they invest.  <\/p>\n<p>Yet for several years, the SEC has done exactly that through a surveillance program called the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT). The CAT is \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/news\/2026\/may\/5\/ai-made-every-american-investor-national-security-target\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the world\u2019s largest collection of retail investor financial information ever assembled.<\/a>\u201d Since its inception, the program has allowed the SEC to monitor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolitics.com\/articles\/2026\/05\/14\/a_call_to_arms_against_the_secs_spy_games_154121.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>trillions<\/em><\/a>  of securities transactions. And the SEC maintains details about those transactions in a government database it searches at will.<\/p>\n<p>The CAT\u2019s scale (and the SEC\u2019s apparent disdain for the Constitution\u2019s guarantees) are shocking. But for decades, regulators and the courts have ignored the Constitution\u2019s requirements in the context of financial regulation and economic liberty.<\/p>\n<p>It doesn\u2019t have to be this way. Courts or the SEC have the authority to end the surveillance \u2014 and should do so because it is both illegal and unconstitutional, as our firm, the New Civil Liberties Alliance, has argued in <a href=\"https:\/\/nclalegal.org\/case\/erik-davidson-john-restivo-national-center-for-public-policy-research-v-paul-s-atkins-u-s-securities-and-exchange-commission-consolidated-audit-trail-llc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">our lawsuit<\/a> against the CAT. For example, Congress never authorized the program nor appropriated money for it. And the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >warrantless surveillance violates<\/a> the Fourth Amendment.<\/p>\n<p>But equally appalling is the SEC\u2019s abridgment of the First Amendment\u2019s guarantee of associational freedom. The Supreme Court has long held that the First Amendment prevents the government from collecting information about the entities Americans associate with or financially support. <\/p>\n<p>During the Civil Rights era, Alabama sought to force the NAACP to provide the state with its membership list. However, in <em>NAACP v. Alabama<\/em> (1958), the Supreme Court held that Alabama\u2019s demand violated the First Amendment. The Court explained that the \u201cinviolability of privacy in group association may in many circumstances be indispensable to preservation of freedom of association.\u201d In other words, the government\u2019s forced disclosure of one\u2019s associations can unlawfully limit expression protected by the First Amendment. <\/p>\n<p>Similarly, the Supreme Court held in <a href=\"https:\/\/supreme.justia.com\/cases\/federal\/us\/594\/19-251\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Americans for Prosperity v. Bonta<\/em> (2021)<\/a> that California could not require a non-profit to disclose its donor lists to the state. Citing <em>NAACP<\/em>, the Court again explained that forced disclosure of an entity\u2019s supporters created a risk of limiting expression \u201cin violation of the First Amendment.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The same principles apply here. The First Amendment guarantees Americans the freedom to support \u2014 or oppose \u2014 a variety of businesses and other entities through their investment decisions. <\/p>\n<p>In today\u2019s polarized political environment, the government-mandated disclosure of investors\u2019 financial decisions and relationships with businesses raises the same chilling concerns present in cases like <em>NAACP<\/em> and <em>Americans for Prosperity<\/em>. In fact, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sec.gov\/newsroom\/speeches-statements\/peirce-statement-04162026-cattywampus-statement-cat-concept-release\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">has warned<\/a> of that possibility, noting that the SEC could use CAT data \u201cto stalk personal or political enemies.\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sec.gov\/newsroom\/speeches-statements\/peirce-statement-response-release-34-88890-051520\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">In her view<\/a>, given the \u201cexpressive value\u201d of various trading decisions, \u201cuntargeted surveillance of financial transactions raises the same types of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rep-gaetz-leads-gop-effort-to-abolish-broad-surveillance-authority\/\" title=\"Rep. Gaetz spearheads GOP push to eliminate expansive surveillance powers.\">civil liberty concerns<\/a> as other mass surveillance programs.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The potential for government abuse undergirds the Supreme Court\u2019s associational privacy decisions. And the risk of partisan targeting of individuals is arguably even higher today. In <em>NAACP <\/em>and <em>Americans for Prosperity<\/em>, the government sought to force disclosure of one organization and its supporters\u2019 association. Today, the SEC is forcing <em>all <\/em>investors to disclose <em>countless <\/em>associations. <\/p>\n<p>Worse yet, details of those relationships are stored in a database subject to government search at any time. Due to technological advances, the government cannot ensure that these sensitive details will not be the subject of a hack or data breach. As the Supreme Court unanimously recognized last month in <em>First Choice Women\u2019s Resource Centers, Inc. v. Davenport<\/em>, sensitive information disclosed only to the government can \u201cwind up in the public domain due to a hack or leak.\u201d For these reasons, it is impossible to reconcile the CAT with the First Amendment\u2019s guarantee of associational freedom.<\/p>\n<p>That investment associations have an economic component does not render the association outside the bounds of the First Amendment. <em>Americans for Prosperity<\/em> explained that \u201c\u2018it is immaterial\u2019\u201d to the level of scrutiny \u201c\u2018whether the beliefs sought to be advanced by association pertain to political, economic, religious, or cultural matters.\u2019 Regardless of the type of association, compelled disclosure requirements\u201d receive heightened scrutiny under the First Amendment.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps recognizing the weight of this constitutional objection and others, the SEC has promised a \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sec.gov\/newsroom\/speeches-statements\/peirce-statement-04162026-cattywampus-statement-cat-concept-release\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">comprehensive review<\/a>\u201d of the CAT. To that end, the SEC is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sec.gov\/newsroom\/press-releases\/2026-37-sec-seeks-public-comment-consolidated-audit-trail-other-audit-trails-data-sources\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">soliciting public comments<\/a> about its surveillance scheme until June 15, 2026. <\/p>\n<p>The SEC, however, seems unlikely to voluntarily shutter the CAT on its own. But public pushback could cause the SEC to change course. And so, Americans concerned about their associational privacy should pressure the SEC to end this unlawful mass surveillance. Anything less than stopping the SEC\u2019s ubiquitous surveillance of investors guarantees continued, irreparable violation of investors\u2019 First Amendment freedoms. <\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Christian Clase and Margot Cleveland are attorneys at the New Civil Liberties Alliance. NCLA has sued the SEC over the CAT in the Western District of Texas. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The First Amendment bars forcing you to disclose groups you support; the SEC ignores this by demanding investor disclosures<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4319,"featured_media":2611986,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/3840px-United_States_Securities_and_Exchange_Commission_SEC_55266859043-scaled.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[33332,81016,50942,14429],"class_list":["post-2611985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-first-amendment","tag-investor-protection","tag-sec-2","tag-surveillance"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/3840px-United_States_Securities_and_Exchange_Commission_SEC_55266859043-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2611985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4319"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2611985"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2611985\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2611989,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2611985\/revisions\/2611989"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2611986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2611985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2611985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2611985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}