U.S. Lawmakers Propose AI Surveillance Bill: Federal Agencies Must Obtain Judicial Warrants to Access Data

According to Decrypt, U.S. Representatives Thomas Massie and Lauren Boebert jointly introduced the AI surveillance bill titled the “Surveillance Accountability Act,” which would require U.S. federal agencies to obtain a judicial warrant before using artificial intelligence for data analysis and surveillance. The bill aims to close a loophole in the “third-party doctrine”—a legal framework originating from 1970s court rulings that permits the U.S. government to access users’ data held by third-party platforms (e.g., banks and telecommunications providers) without a warrant. The bill’s sponsors argue that, in the internet and AI era, this doctrine has been excessively expanded, thereby weakening protections for citizens’ privacy.