Friend,

If you have a smartphone or tablet, chances are that federal agencies like ICE, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the FBI know where you are right now. That’s because these agencies are exploiting a loophole in the law.

A new bill would close this loophole, ensuring that federal agencies can’t buy our private location data from apps or digital data brokers. Urge lawmakers to protect your privacy and pass the Fourth Amendment Is Not for Sale Act.

Thanks!

Rose

Friend,

If you have a smartphone or tablet, chances are that federal agencies know where you are right now. Agencies like ICE, U.S Customs and Border Protection, the FBI and others are buying sensitive data, including location data, from the apps we download on our devices — and they’re gaining all of this information without a warrant.

How can this be? In short, federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies are circumventing Congress, the Constitution and the courts by exploiting a loophole in the law. The laws regulating how the government acquires your data were written before the age of apps and digital data brokers — and federal agencies are taking advantage.

This kind of tracking is an abuse of power and a violation of our Fourth Amendment right to privacy. Tell Congress: The Fourth Amendment is not for sale.

Right now, we’re all at risk of having our privacy violated, but immigrants, people of color and religious minorities are disproportionately targeted.

Here are just a few examples: Last year, it was revealed that the U.S. military has been extracting location data from a Muslim prayer app to spy on the Muslim community.¹ ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection regularly purchase location-tracking data from shady “data mining” tech companies.²

The privacy and civil-rights implications of this are staggering: Federal agencies can purchase your personal location data without your consent or a warrant. It’s our responsibility to hold our government accountable for harmful practices — especially when such practices violate the civil rights and privacy rights of communities of color and religious minorities.

Tell your senators and representative to pass the Fourth Amendment Is Not for Sale Act to stop these abusive spying practices that disproportionately harm communities of color.

Thanks for all that you do —

Rose, Sandy and the rest of the Free Press Action team
freepress.net

P.S. Federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies are invading your privacy by exploiting a loophole in the law. The laws regulating how the government acquires your data were written before the age of apps and digital data brokers — and federal agencies are taking advantage. This kind of tracking is an abuse of power and a violation of our Fourth Amendment right to privacy. Tell Congress: The Fourth Amendment is not for sale.

1. “How the U.S. Military Buys Location Data from Ordinary Apps,” Motherboard, Nov. 16, 2020

2. “DHS Authorities Are Buying Moment-By-Moment Geolocation Cellphone Data to Track People,” BuzzFeed, Oct. 30, 2020