The Feds Are Buying Their Way Around the 4th Amendment

A Republican congressman last week highlighted an oft-overlooked threat to the privacy of all Americans: The federal government's practice of purchasing citizens' private market data (PMD) from data brokers without a warrant. Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R–N.D.) raised the issue at the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government's inaugural hearing. 

"The federal government has realized the value of the massive amounts of commercial consumer data that is freely available on the open market," Armstrong said. "Combine [the amount of data available] with the advance in technology like [artificial...