Sounds a reasonable proposal (?) .. I’m fairly certain many of our 
psychiatrists and psychologists would agree 😊


*“Proposed Bill Would Let People Know When Law Enforcement is Surveilling Them”*

By Alexandra Kelley,  MARCH 22, 2022  
https://www.nextgov.com/policy/2022/03/proposed-bill-would-let-people-know-when-law-enforcement-surveilling-them/363464/


The U.S. Government Surveillance Transparency Act requires law enforcement to 
disclose surveillance orders.

A new bill unveiled this week advocates increased transparency to existing 
court-ordered surveillance laws, requiring individuals to be made aware of the 
monitoring of their communications.

The Government Surveillance Transparency Act places new limits on how long 
surveillance material can be sealed for, and would require law enforcement 
officials at federal and state levels to alert individuals being surveilled.

Sponsored by Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; and Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., the bill 
aims to promote transparency on the thousands of criminal surveillance warrants 
ordered by courts each year.

*It specifically works to include digital communications, such as e-mails and 
search histories, as well as more traditional calls and wiretaps.*

*“When the government obtains someone’s emails or other digital information, 
users have a right to know,” Wyden said.*

“Our bill ensures that no investigation will be compromised, but makes sure the 
government can’t hide surveillance forever by misusing sealing and gag orders 
to prevent the American people from understanding the enormous scale of 
government surveillance, as well as ensuring that the targets eventually learn 
their personal information has been searched.”

The pending legislation does carry exceptions: while it calls for 
non-disclosure orders for people undergoing court-ordered surveillance, it 
notes that special mitigating circumstances allow law enforcement to withhold 
surveillance information past 180 days. These conditions revolve around whether 
or not discussing the surveillance would jeopardize a criminal case or threaten 
the life of an individual.

“This bill strikes an appropriate balance between protecting criminal 
investigations and notifying individuals when their private electronic 
communications are surveilled by the government,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and 
bill cosponsor said. “Americans have a right against unreasonable searches and 
that includes in their digital communications and data. I am proud to cosponsor 
The Government Surveillance Transparency Act.”

Other provisions included in the bill would require courts to publish online 
data about every surveillance order authorized and executed without revealing 
the individual’s name or personal information, expand annual wiretap reporting 
to include data on surveilled stored communications, and allow parties to 
contest any sealed surveillance information.

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