These 4 States Are Pushing Back Against The NSA's Spying
Call it NIMBY for the surveillance age.
State lawmakers across the country are trying to pass laws preventing the National Security Agency from using public resources to spy on Americans without a warrant.
That means NSA facilities could be left without publicly funded water and power and companies that help with the surveillance could be disqualified from state contracts. And prosecutors would not be allowed to use NSA evidence collected without a warrant.
California, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Kansas have proposed laws that include some or all of the restrictions, and an Arizona lawmaker has said she plans to introduce legislation soon.
“The NSA has been violating the Fourth Amendment rights of Americans for years,” said California state Sen. Ted Lieu, a Los Angeles–area Democrat who—along with state Sen. Joel Anderson, R–San Diego—sponsored his state’s bill.
“The fact that Americans make or receive phone calls does not make us suspicious,” Lieu said.
Americans across the political spectrum have expressed outrage at revelations that the NSA has collected electronic data—including phone records, text messages, and emails—from millions of people without warrants. Federal judges have issued conflicting rulings on whether the practice is constitutional.
The state proposals have used a template of the Fourth Amendment Protection Act offered by the Tenth Amendment Center, which favors a less powerful federal government. Several other states, including Washington and Utah, are likely to propose similar bills in coming weeks, said Michael Maharrey, a spokesperson for the center.
“The more states get on board, the more pressure it will put on Washington, D.C.,” to limit NSA surveillance, Maharrey said. “Congress and the president don’t seem too inclined to do it on their own.”
Several court cases have established precedent for such laws limiting states’ involvement in controversial federal programs, legal experts said. Enforcement could nevertheless be tricky, said Jonathan Manes, a Yale Law School lecturer.
It could be difficult, for example, for lawmakers to prohibit companies from doing business with both the NSA and the state, Manes said.
“If there’s conflict like that, I don’t think the state law would stand up,” he said. But “these are certainly important symbolic moves. It reflects the deep discontent with what the NSA is doing.”
This past weekend, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul took to the Sunday talk shows to say his team, after six months of research and signature gathering, was planning to file a class-action lawsuit on behalf of the American people.
Electronic Frontier Foundation attorney David Greene said his organization, which has been at the forefront of fighting for NSA transparency, was aware that the class-action suit was being considered by Paul's team but wasn't involved in it.
Saying Paul's filing is "certainly unusual," Greene added that he can't remember another time that a senator—who has the power to author bills and rally around legislation—has taken to a separate branch of government, the judiciary, to advance a cause in quite this fashion.
It is, however, very typical to see multiple lawsuits pop up around broad issues like the NSA's surveillance, Greene said.
The foundation's case raises similar issues but is filed on behalf of clients of 22 organizations who are primarily claiming that the collection of telephone call detail records "burdens their freedom of association," a First Amendment right. The EFF's case is expected to go to court April 25.
"Frankly, the NSA has admitted they've abused things—spying on ex-spouses and other things. There actually is information that there has been abuse," Greene said. "The problem is we only know about the abuse that they've self-reported."
Related stories on TakePart:
• NSA Lied to Get Permission to Spy on Americans
• Obama Promises Better Transparency—Should We Believe It?
• Little Brother Is Watching, Too: NSA Spying Has Nothing on Local Police
• Army to Use More Surveillance to Stop Future Wannabe Edward Snowdens
• 12 Media Leaks That Rocked the World
Original article from TakePart
