PPSA Statement on Passage of the Jacobs-Davidson Amendment for Surveillance Transparency

​The U.S. House of Representatives passed a major transparency measure by voice vote tonight. This amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, offered by Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA) and Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), will require the Department of Defense to report the number of times it purchases the internet browsing and phone location data of Americans from private data brokers. The report will also include a general accounting of how the government uses this information.

• “This is a major victory for surveillance reform,” said Gene Schaerr, general counsel of PPSA. “We’ve long known that many agencies have been sidestepping the Fourth Amendment’s requirement for probable cause warrants by buying our data. Today’s amendment will alert Congress and the American people to the scope of this practice in the largest department of the government. This amendment will set the stage for a needed debate over the propriety of our own government spying on us all without a warrant.”

• Bob Goodlatte, former Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and a Senior Policy Advisor to PPSA, said: “As Americans learn about the depth and breadth of the government’s tracking of our digital lives – what we search for, where we go – they are taking this as a strong step in the right direction into this debate and over other government surveillance reforms.”

PPSA commends Reps. Jacobs and Davidson on their steady leadership and articulate advocacy. Tonight’s success should provide momentum for the passage of the Fourth Amendment Is Not for Sale Act.