Trump Is Using Your Tax Dollars to Spy on You
The Trump administration discovered it could buy Americans' location data instead of getting a warrant. Now AI makes the threat exponentially worse.
Trump and His Administration Are Circumventing the Constitution by Buying Data They Would Normally Need a Warrant to Access
Friends, something extraordinary happened in a Senate hearing room on March 18, 2026. Under direct questioning from Senator Ron Wyden, FBI Director Kash Patel admitted that the bureau is actively purchasing Americans’ location data from commercial data brokers — no warrant, no judge’s approval, no probable cause. When Wyden asked whether the FBI would commit to stopping the practice, Patel deflected: “The FBI uses all tools … to do our mission. We do purchase commercially available information that is consistent with the Constitution and the laws under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act — and it has led to some valuable intelligence.”1
This was not a slip. It was a confession. Wyden had been watching this threat build for years. “I’ve been warning for nearly a decade that data available for purchase from companies is just as sensitive as information the government collects directly. Creating AI profiles of Americans based on that data represents a chilling expansion of mass surveillance that should not be allowed, regardless of what the current, outdated laws on the books say.”2 Collecting this data without a warrant, he added, is “an outrageous end run around the Fourth Amendment.” 3
The mechanism being exploited is the “data broker loophole.” Rather than seek a warrant, federal agencies simply purchase what they need. Under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the government also engages in mass, warrantless surveillance of Americans’ phone calls, text messages, and emails — and information collected without a warrant can be used to prosecute and imprison people, even for crimes having nothing to do with national security.4 This tactic has already targeted vulnerable communities: 98 million people had their location data funneled through a third-party data broker to a U.S. military counterterrorism unit simply because they downloaded a mobile prayer app.5
Now layer artificial intelligence on top. The ACLU and Center for Democracy and Technology have put it plainly: “By exploiting the data broker loophole, the government has access to unprecedented data on our lives, our routines, and our relationships. Combining that data with the power of AI would expand the Pentagon’s surveillance powers exponentially.“6 When Anthropic refused to allow its AI to be used for mass domestic surveillance, the Pentagon blacklisted the company — a designation never before publicly applied to an American company — and President Trump directed federal agencies to stop using its technology.7 The alarm has grown so loud that even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman felt compelled to draw the same red lines in a memo to staff: no AI for mass surveillance or autonomous lethal weapons.8 That the leaders of the most powerful AI companies in the world are publicly pledging to resist domestic surveillance demands tells you everything about how serious — and how real — this threat has become.
People Power United joined more than 90 civil liberties organizations to urge members of Congress to act before it’s too late.9
As Congress weighs the future of Section 702, we urge Democratic Members to stand firm against any extension that does not include these critical reforms. Supporting Stephen Miller’s warrantless surveillance agenda would be a massive detriment to the privacy and civil rights and liberties of people in the United States. These surveillance authorities have long jeopardized privacy, and efforts by Miller to continue them without meaningful reforms and sufficient oversight are deeply troubling.
Section 702 is up for reauthorization and the White House is demanding a clean extension with zero reforms. If Congress complies, the combination of warrantless data purchases, AI-powered analysis, and backdoor search authority will create a surveillance apparatus that can be turned against anyone — protesters, journalists, immigrants, and political opponents alike.
The bipartisan Government Surveillance Reform Act10 would close the data broker loophole and require warrants before agencies can buy your private data. It needs your voice now.
Your location. Your prayers. Your messages. Your movements. None of it should be available to federal agents without a warrant. Sign the letter and demand Congress block Trump’s AI-powered warrantless surveillance of Americans.
The Fourth Amendment is not for sale.
Take Action: Block Trump’s AI-Powered Warrantless Surveillance of Americans
Why the Grassroots Resistance Can’t Wait
The movement for freedom over fascism, progress, and power to the people starts here.
Take action: Tell Congress to pass the War Powers Resolution and stop Trump’s illegal war in Iran
📢 Take action: Submit an official comment rejecting the criminalization of dissent
💸 Take action: This Tax Day, tell Congress to tax the rich and make life more affordable for working people and families
🗳️ Take action: Tell Congress to stop the SAVE America Act and defend the right to vote
🪖 Take action: Tell Congress to stop Trump from sending American troops into Iran and vote no on the draft
🛑 Take Action Now: Tell Congress: Block the $10 billion scam to fund Trump’s Orwellian Board of Peace
🗳️ Bonus action: Register to vote, vote in every election, and help your community do the same. Reproductive freedom is won and lost at the ballot box.
👑 Bonus action: Sign up for the next national No Kings Day of Action and show up in solidarity with everyone whose rights are under attack.
Together, we can champion our rights, freedoms, and democracy, hold our leaders accountable to the people’s will, and inspire voters to make a meaningful difference.
Laurie Woodward Garcia (paid with hugs and kisses, not bought by special interests) Leader, People Power United
People Power United | In this community, we will always speak out against racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, antisemitism, homophobia, misogyny, sexism, ageism, ableism, sizeism, elitism, transphobia, misogynoir, and bigotry!
This is our moment to rise, resist, and reclaim our rights, freedoms, rule of law, and democracy. Millions of Americans are already refusing to back down — in the streets, at the ballot box, and in their communities.
Every movement that was ever won started with people who refused to quit. We are those people.
The future is not lost. It is being built — by us, right now.
💙💙💙
I would sign your letter, if you promise you won’t email me a million times to donate.