UPDATE July 19, 2023: Both bills passed out of committee this morning. The vote on the PRESS Act was unanimous in favor. The Fourth Amendment is Not for Sale vote was unanimous in support, but for a “present” vote from Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA). Help keep the momentum going by sending emails in support of each bill to your Representative!

On July 19, the House Judiciary Committee will mark up two critically important bills Defending Rights & Dissent has worked for years to pass. 

The Protect Reporters from Exploitive State Spying (PRESS) Act (HR 4250)

Introduced by Representatives Jamie Raskin (MD-08) and Kevin Kiley (CA-03), this bipartisan and bicameral legislation protects journalists — regardless of their political leanings or establishment credentials — from being surveilled by the government or forced to burn sources (with appropriate exceptions for serious emergencies). It also restricts workaround efforts to unmask journalists’ sources through their technology providers. 

Take Action: Tell your Representatives to support the PRESS Act

Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act (H.R. 4639)

This bipartisan bill is sponsored by Reps. Davidson (R-OH), Nadler (D-NY), Biggs (R-AZ), Lofgren (D-CA), Buck (R-CO), Jayapal (D-WA), Massie (R-KY), and Jacobs (D-CA). It closes the Data Broker Loophole, which government agencies are exploiting to purchase Americans’ data without a subpoena, court order, or warrant.

Take Action: Tell Congress to pass the Fourth Amendment is Not for Sale Act

Just last month, the ODNI released a disturbing report that confirmed, per The Wall Street Journal, that “U.S. Spy Agencies Buy Vast Quantities of Americans’ Personal Data,” even rivaling wiretaps, and per Wired, that the “U.S. Is Openly Stockpiling Dirt on All Its Citizens.” The Wall Street Journal previously reported  on a Harris poll which “found that 77% of Americans believe the government should get a warrant to buy the kind of detailed location information that is frequently purchased and sold on the commercial market by data brokers.”

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers has further put together this helpful one-pager explaining why the Data Broker Loophole is so dangerous to people seeking reproductive healthcare post-Dobbs, but it doesn’t stop there. From religious expression, political activity to “national security, and to U.S. democracy writ large” — the Data Broker Loophole affects everyone in the United States.