1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

Vote yes on HB8470, the Surveillance Accountability Act. Right now, federal agencies vacuum up data that Americans post publicly online — location history, social media activity, purchasing behavior — and treat it as fair game because courts have never required a warrant for it. That loophole has let the government build detailed profiles on ordinary people without ever facing a judge. HB8470 closes it by requiring a warrant based on probable cause before any targeted, systematic collection of that data. The bill also creates a real enforcement mechanism. The new private right of action under §1979A means people whose Fourth Amendment rights are violated can actually sue for redress, with attorney's fees available to prevailing plaintiffs. That's not a technicality — it's the difference between a right that exists on paper and one that gets enforced. The Supreme Court's Bivens doctrine has been gutted, and § 1983 doesn't cover federal actors. This bill fills that gap. Pass it before the April 23, 2026 effective date gives agencies time to comply.