1. United States
2. Ky.
3. Letter

I am writing to you to support and co-sponsor Rep Massie and Rep Boebert’s bill H.R. 8470, the Surveillance Accountability Act (SAA). Never has privacy been more at risk than today with the growing 3rd party surveillance such as Flock AI face and license plate readers (LPR) and mobile carriers collecting and selling your location data. This legislation would require government-initiated searches be conducted with a warrant based on probable cause as required by the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. In addition, the legislation creates a private cause of action that allows individuals whose Fourth Amendment protections are violated by government employees to sue for damages. The Surveillance Accountability Act imposes a universal warrant requirement for any government search that significantly intrudes on an individual’s privacy or security and closes the “third-party doctrine” loophole by requiring warrants for access to data held by internet service providers, banks, cloud services, and data brokers. The bill defines “search” for the modern, digital era to include metadata collection, geolocation tracking, financial records, and internet activity. It also prohibits the warrantless use of facial recognition, biometric tracking, and license plate reader systems tied to individuals, while preserving traditional and limited exceptions such as consent, exigent circumstances, plain view, identity verification, and other ordinary policing authorities.