Freedom Caucus lawmakers cheered the House Appropriations Committee advancing an amendment to a major funding bill that would protect Americans’ privacy against data brokers.
“For too long, federal law enforcement agencies have skirted the Constitution by purchasing and selling Americans’ private data without judicial oversight. That’s why I voted to include an amendment in this year’s CJS [Commerce, Justice, Science] appropriations bill to close the data broker loophole and restore constitutional protections. We must keep using every available tool to rein in government overreach and safeguard the privacy and liberty of the American people,” House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris (R-MD), a member of the Appropriations Committee, told Breitbart News in a written statement.
Last week, the House Appropriations Committee adopted an amendment to the Commerce, Justice, and Science appropriations bill offered by Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) that would close the so-called “data broker loophole” and prevent law enforcement and government agencies from purchasing Americans’ online data, including browser histories and location information. Privacy advocates believe that this reform would prevent law enforcement and federal agencies from circumventing Fourth Amendment protections against warrantless searches.
The amendment was adopted 32-25 with Democrats and Republicans in favor of the amendment.
The amendment mirrors the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act, legislation championed by Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH); a similar bill passed through the House in 2024 on a bipartisan basis.
“Americans’ Fourth Amendment rights are not a suggestion — and they are certainly not for sale. Congress must use every opportunity possible, including the annual appropriations process, to prohibit the government from purchasing the American people’s data without a warrant. I proudly supported an amendment to add this constitutional protection to the FY27 CJS appropriations bill, and I remain committed to defending Americans’ Fourth Amendment freedoms as this legislation moves forward,” Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA), another member of the Appropriations Committee, told Breitbart News in a statement.
Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and Eric Burlison (R-MO) wrote in an op-ed for Breitbart News in April about how federal agencies’ purchase of Americans’ data rivals a “formal [gun] registry.” They also wrote about the need to have a warrant requirement and to close the data broker loophole:
First, require a warrant before the FBI searches an American’s private communications. This failed by a single vote in 2024. The government now claims it conducts only a few thousand such searches a year. Great, the courts can handle that load. If the real number is higher, that proves exactly why the warrant requirement is necessary.
Second, close the data broker loophole. The bipartisan Wyden-Lee-Davidson bill, Rep. Andy Biggs’s Protect Liberty Act, and the Durbin-Lee SAFE Act would all reauthorize FISA while banning the federal government from buying Americans’ data without court orders. If collecting your location data directly would require a warrant, buying it from a broker should too.
Many on the other side of the aisle cheered the amendment’s adoption.
Demand Progress Senior Policy Advisor Hajar Hammado said in a statement:
This is a major victory for our privacy rights and a clear sign of momentum for the bipartisan chorus of Americans, progressive and conservative alike, calling for privacy protections against abusive government surveillance. Without this desperately needed legislation, the government can bypass the courts to purchase our browser histories and location data and feed that into AI surveillance systems.
She continued, “Congress must stop this blatant end-run around the Fourth Amendment before it’s too late. We applaud Rep. Espaillat for introducing this amendment and for his continued leadership on privacy rights.”