A bipartisan bill that would protect Americans’ civil liberties by restricting law enforcement’s ability to secretly seize individuals’ private data and phone records is gaining momentum in Congress.
In January Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Chris Coons (D-CT) proposed the NDO Fairness Act, a bill that would restrict law enforcement’s ability to use Non-Disclosure Orders (NDOs), which are commonly referred to as gag or secrecy orders. They introduced the legislation as the use of gag orders has surged in recent years, especially in cases involving electronic data such as emails, texts, and personal information online. These gag orders bar service providers from informing individuals that law enforcement has accessed their data.
“Americans have the constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, including searches of private electronic communications,” Lee said in a statement at the time. “Our bipartisan bill protects Americans’ privacy and provides needed transparency, while still allowing judges to grant nondisclosure orders when truly needed to protect others from harm or preserve an ongoing investigation.”
“The Constitution protects Americans’ right to privacy in their personal communications, but we can only assert that right if we know our privacy has been violated. It’s too easy for law enforcement to access electronic records without informing the person they’re under investigation,” Coons said. “The NDO Fairness Act will bring the rules around electronic searches in line with physical ones, protecting Americans’ rights and freedoms.”
“It’s great news that there is strong bipartisan support to pass NDO reform to prevent another Jack Smith from spying on Americans’ private phone records without even alerting citizens that their records were requested by the federal government. A simple fix everyone should get behind. What Jack Smith did in Arctic Frost must never happen again,” a House Republican leadership aide told Breitbart News.
The NDO Fairness Act would require the government to adhere to established legal and constitutional standards before obtaining secrecy orders for electronic searches. The bill would make searches of electronic data more aligned with physical searches, where the government must notify individuals unless a higher standard is met.
The use of NDOs became particularly controversial when former special counsel Jack Smith sought NDOs to search the phone records of lawmakers as part of his Arctic Frost investigation into President Donald Trump, other Republicans, and conservative organizations surrounding January 6.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday about the FBI’s Arctic Frost investigation and how it may be a “modern Watergate.”
In a letter to Judge Boasberg written last November, lawmakers noted that of 45 subpoenas issued accompanied by NDOs, “including the NDOs associated with Members of Congress,” 19 were signed by Judge Boasberg.
Those in the Senate believe this bill would protect lawmakers of both parties from being surveilled.
“The idea that a Senator could have his or her cell phone records tapped and not even be told is deeply alarming to both Republicans and Democrats. Credit where due — Jack Smith’s outrageous lawfare has finally given us the momentum needed to get NDO reform done,” a Senate leadership adviser told Breitbart News.
“Arctic Frost was one of the worst abuses of power in history. Members are still livid about it and now the votes are there to pass NDO legislation so what Jack Smith did to Kash Patel and Susie Wiles can never happen again,” a senior Senate aide told Breitbart News.
