Letter Urges Congress to Protect Fourth Amendment Privacy Rights in Light of Reported DHS Contract with Thomson Reuters’ CLEAR
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a new letter, over two dozen organizations call on Congress to investigate reports that the Department of Homeland Security and ICE have entered into a multi-year agreement with Thomson Reuters Special Services to access CLEAR, a commercial investigative platform capable of aggregating extensive personal information about millions of people in the United States.
The letter warns that such an agreement would erode the protections guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment and underscores the urgent need for Congress to close the data broker loophole.
Signers of the letter include Public Citizen, ACLU, the Center for Democracy and Technology, Common Cause, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC).
“Thomson Reuters used to be known as a trusted source of factual information,”said J.B. Branch, director of federal AI governance and technology policy at Public Citizen. “But by entering into an agreement with DHS that turns our movements, relationships, and personal lives into a searchable database for the government, they have completely destroyed that trust.The agreement between Thomson Reuters, DHS, and ICE leaves Americans vulnerable to government surveillance that would otherwise require a warrant. Americans should not lose their Fourth Amendment rights simply because the government is willing to purchase its away around our rights. Congress must close the data loophole by passing the Fourth Amendment is Not for Sale Act. Big Tech and Big Data companies like Thomson Reuters need to decide whether profiting from government surveillance is compatible with the values they claim to hold.”
“Our Fourth Amendment rights should never be for sale, but federal agencies like ICE are routinely spending taxpayer money to buy sensitive personal data that the law prohibits them from obtaining without a warrant,” said Kia Hamadanchy, senior policy counsel at ACLU. “That is why Congress should pass the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act and put a stop to these dangerous practices. Until then, companies like Thomson Reuters should immediately stop selling tools that enable the government to bypass the Fourth Amendment.”
In addition to advancing the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act, the letter urges Congressional committees to:
- Hold oversight hearings examining federal agencies’ acquisition and use of commercially available information obtained from data brokers.
- Require comprehensive transparency regarding federal contracts for commercially aggregated personal data, including the categories of information purchased, agencies involved, legal authorities relied upon, and oversight mechanisms governing their use.
- Examine whether existing procurement laws adequately protect constitutional rights when agencies acquire commercial surveillance capabilities.
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