Surveillance Accountability Act
Rep. Massie Introduces Bill Requiring Warrants for Government Access to Digital Data and Biometrics
The Surveillance Accountability Act is currently in the early stages of the legislative process. It was recently sent to the House Committee on the Judiciary for review. No further actions are scheduled at this time.
Legislative Progress
While privacy is a popular topic, bills that limit law enforcement and intelligence gathering often face strong opposition from both parties and rarely make it out of committee.
Key Points
Impact Analysis
Personal Impact
Life & Work
Federal employees involved in law enforcement, intelligence, or investigations would face new personal liability for Fourth Amendment violations. The bill explicitly makes federal employees (except the President and Vice President) subject to lawsuits if they conduct unlawful searches, creating a new legal risk that does not currently exist in a clear statutory form at the federal level.
“Every person, including a Federal employee, who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of the United States, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or any person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Fourth Amendment, shall be liable to the party injured”
Activities
Milestones
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Votes
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Surveillance Accountability Act
Data Sources
Sponsor
Cosponsors
(1)Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.