Protecting Americans’ Privacy

Dan Goldman voted to hand the federal government expansive surveillance powers. Brad Lander will always protect people’s civil liberties.

Unless reauthorized by Congress, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act will expire on April 20th. President Donald Trump is pushing for full reauthorization, without provisions to protect Americans’ right to privacy. This will allow the Trump Administration administration to continue using private data, from dating apps to The Weather Channel, to spy on politicians, opponents, protestors, and immigrants.

Dan Goldman’s votes against the Biggs Amendment and the Fourth Amendment is Not for Sale Act helped to give the federal government unchecked power to spy on political opponents, and use dating apps and other personal data to track Americans, all without a warrant.

In contrast, Brad Lander has consistently fought to protect civil liberties. In the City Council, he led efforts to oppose spying on Muslim New Yorkers, create the NYPD Inspector General’s office, and pass the Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology Act. In Congress, Brad will fight Donald Trump’s warrantless surveillance. He will never compromise on Americans’ civil liberties, as Goldman has repeatedly.

Dan Goldman handed the Trump Administration power to spy on Americans.

Dan Goldman has repeatedly voted to expand surveillance on American citizens. He has allowed the Trump Administration and its corporate allies to trample on our constitutional rights and make a profit in the process.

(1) Goldman cast the deciding vote against the Biggs Amendment, ensuring the Trump Administration can spy on its political opposition.

• The Biggs Amendment, which failed in the House 212-212, would have added a warrant requirement for U.S. person queries under FISA Section 702, enabling what the ACLU characterized as “the most dramatic expansions of warrantless government surveillance since the Patriot Act.”

• Goldman’s vote ensured that the Federal government has the authority to spy on American protestors, donors, journalists, and politicians without a warrant.

• Goldman did not just vote against the amendment, but help organize to defeat it, citing his experience as a prosecutor: “Based on that experience, I can say with confidence that requiring a warrant would render this program unusable and entirely worthless,”

• The Trump Administration is now attempting to use its massive Section 702 database to deny entry to legal immigrants who have been critical of President Trump. They are also seeking to reauthorize Section 702. Now that it has become politically toxic, just as he is running for re-election in a hotly-contested primary, Goldman is reportedly considering changing his tune.

(2) Dan Goldman voted to allow ICE to use dating apps and other personal data to track Americans without a warrant.

• Goldman also voted against the ‘Fourth Amendment is Not for Sale Act’, which aimed to prohibit law enforcement from purchasing Americans’ personal data from third-party data brokers to sidestep Fourth Amendment warrant requirements.

• This legislation sought to prohibit law enforcement and intelligence agencies from “purchasing personal information about customers or subscribers of electronic and remote computing service providers (for example, social media, cell phone, email, and cloud-computing companies) from a third party. …[and would have required] a law enforcement or intelligence agency to obtain a court order before acquiring customer or subscriber information from a third party.”

• By voting against the bill, Goldman voted in favor of the government’s ability to purchase otherwise protected information about Americans through applications like The Weather Channel and Tinder without a warrant based on probable cause.

• ICE has used this power to access data that would otherwise be protected.

Brad Lander will protect his constituents from Trump’s authoritarian spy tactics and prevent government overreach, regardless of who is in the White House.

Brad Lander has consistently fought to protect the constitutional rights of his constituents and prevent unwarranted government surveillance. When the NYPD’s Demographics Unit was revealed to have spied on Muslim mosques, businesses, and student groups, Lander co-led the successful effort in the City Council to create the Office of NYPD Inspector General and strengthen the city’s prohibition of bias-based policing. He subsequently co-sponsored the Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology (POST) Act to require transparency around NYPD use of surveillance technology. In Congress, Brad will continue this fight, building on the model of Rep. Jerry Nadler to safeguard New Yorkers from warrantless surveillance:

• Support Senator Wyden and Representative Jayapal’s ‘Government Surveillance Reform Act’ to close the backdoor search and the data broker loophole that Goldman supported.

• Authorize House investigations into corporate accomplices to illegal mass government surveillance.

• Investigate Palantir for allegedly helping the government build “mega-databases” in violation of federal privacy laws.

• Investigate government contacts with companies like Mobile Fortitute and Clearview AI over allegations they are being used to surveil protesters.

• Support Representative Ayanna Pressley and Senator Ed Markey’s Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act to restrict government use of facial recognition technology.

• Codify President Biden’s Executive Order 14117, which will bar American corporations from selling our personal data in bulk to foreign powers.

• Prevent the consolidation of private data in mega-databases among federal agencies to mitigate security risks, data abuse, and prevent private contractors like Palantir from accessing unprecedented amounts of personal data. This proposed legislation would directly counter President Trump’s EO14243, which allows for this dangerous type of data collection.

• Reintroduce H.R. 4124 (115th Congress) to end warrantless surveillance and allow individuals being surveilled to contest the constitutionality of surveillance in court.

With only a week until FISA, Section 702 expires, Dan Goldman refuses to fight to close the loopholes he once enabled, which allow the Trump Administration to spy and target Americans. In Congress, Brad Lander will be a vocal critic of warrantless surveillance and fight back against the Trump Administration’s attacks on our civil liberties.