In Phones, Fashion, and Fighting for Fourth Amendment Protections, I wrote about how recent figures in American history fought to protect our right to privacy (all while remaining runway ready). In this post, I focus on, one, how the U.S. government does not respect Fourth Amendment protections associated with our private data and, two, why, as a result, we should support amendments to FISA 702, which is currently being debated in Congress. Finally, I review the fundamentals of managing our digital privacy.

Fourth Amendment Context

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

In other words, the Fourth Amendment, in protecting individuals against unreasonable searches by the government, establishes a right to privacy of our persons, in our homes, and with our effects. In the absence of a warrant or lawful arrest, handbags and wallets, for example, are protected.

Nowadays, cell phones, which concentrate information from our personal and private lives, serve as part of our personal management and communications “infrastructure.” Fortunately, the contents of mobile phones also have meaningful constitutional protections. As with handbags, the Supreme Court ruled that cell phones are “effects” protected by the Fourth Amendment, generally requiring a warrant for law enforcement to search them.

Our Government Spies on Us

Do you trust the government with your private information? Based on what we already know, it’s unclear why we should. DOGE and other U.S. government agencies have illegally hoovered up our private data. The Department of Justice confirmed that DOGE employees had inappropriate access to personal data, that DOGE violated legal restraining orders, and that DOGE had “uploaded sensitive Social Security data to a cloud server without adequate security controls.”

In addition, a personal phone links to the internet and devices that track our movements, searches, account balances, and medical records. Private companies collect this data, repackage it, and sell it. Who would buy it? Advertisers. Bounty hunters. Political campaigns. Criminal syndicates. And the U.S. government buys this data in bulk, without warrants, and can use it to reveal details about U.S. citizens.

Currently, Congress is debating reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. This section bans federal agencies from collecting the type of data they are currently buying in bulk. (The Brennan Center for Justice has an excellent 2026 Resource Page about FISA Section 702.) Members of Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, are pursuing changes to close the “data broker loophole” which allows agencies to sidestep our Fourth Amendment protections, in addition to ending the authority that allows the U.S. government to use the foreign surveillance authority to investigate American citizens.

Is this a big issue? According to data from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, there were 349,823 surveillance targets in 2025, up from about 246,000 in 2022, with each target comprising who-knows-how-many electronic records. How many texts, emails, calls do you receive each day?

Support the proposed changed to FISA 702.

What Else Can We Do?

We have agency and opportunity to better manage our own data. We lock our doors at home and avoid flashing wads of cash while walking down the street. Simple, prudent habits can mitigate the abuse of our own private data. Consider the basics:

• Passwords: employ strong, unique passwords and consider storing them in a password manager. Turn on two-factor authentication (2FA) whenever available, especially for financial and social media accounts.
• Share less: social media facilitates the sharing of personal information related to family names, birthdates, and locations. (Few people care about your vacations anyway… just saying…)
• Secure devices: always maintain updates on your phone and computer, which help patch vulnerabilities.
• Reduce permissions: does TikTok, the flashlight app, and your favorite game really need access to your contact list or current location? Reduce permissions and review the privacy settings on Google, Facebook, and others to minimize data tracking and sharing.

Good luck and see you on the digital trail.