State Sets Massive Precedent, Passes Law To Effectively Ban The NSA

[dynamo]

May 20, 2018


By Rachel Blevins

Michigan has become the first state to ban the National Security Agency’s intrusive data collection practices by passing a law that prohibits law enforcement and state agencies from turning over personal data to the federal government without due process.
The Fourth Amendment Rights Protection Act, or HB4430, will go into effect next month after it passed the Michigan state legislature with overwhelming support and only one “no” vote.
The text of the bill states that its purpose is

to prohibit this state and certain other governmental agents, employees, and entities in this state from assisting a federal agency in obtaining certain forms of data without a warrant; and to prohibit certain uses of certain data collected without a warrant.

According to the new law, the state and its political subdivisions “shall not assist, participate with, or provide material support or resources to a federal agency to enable it to collect or to facilitate in the collection or use of a person’s electronic data or metadata,” unless at least or more of the following criteria are met:

1. The person has given informed consent.
2. The action is pursuant to a warrant that is based upon probable cause and particularly describes the person, place, or thing to be searched or seized.
3. The action is in accordance with a legally recognized exception to warrant requirements.
4. The action will not infringe on any reasonable expectation of privacy the person may have.
5. This state or a political subdivision of this state collected the electronic data or metadata legally.”

As the Washington Examiner reported, the new law is “the biggest accomplishment yet growing out of efforts to block water to a massive NSA data-storage center in Bluffdale, Utah.” Similar laws have been proposed and have fallen short in states such as Alaska, Maryland, South Carolina, and Washington.

The Fourth Amendment Rights Protection Act in Michigan claims the “electronic data” that will be protected from the NSA includes “an electronic communication or the use of an electronic communication service,” “the precise or approximate location of the sender or recipients of an electronic communication,” and “the identity of an individual or device involved in the communication.”

Michigan State Rep. Martin Howrylak, a sponsor of the bill, told the Examiner that he believes its passage “speaks to the fact that a lot of the domestic surveillance of American citizens is highly unpopular.”

“It hangs up a sign on Michigan’s door saying, ‘No violation of the Fourth Amendment, look elsewhere,’” Howrylak said. “Democrats, as well as Republicans, would certainly stand very strong in our position on what this law means.”

While Howrylak said he thinks the law makes “a strong court case saying this is what the state intends,” he hopes other states will join in by passing similar legislation, in an effort to cripple the NSA’s illegal activities.

Next month marks 5 years since former NSA contractor Edward Snowden released a trove of classified documents revealing that the United States government was routinely collecting metadata from innocent American citizens without warrants, and using “national security” to justify its actions.

While the NSA’s warrantless data collection was ruled illegal by a court in June 2015, it has continued and the government has attempted to cover up its illegal actions by writing them into law. The latest example of this occurred earlier this year when Congress reauthorized Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

Section 702 has served as the foundation for the NSA’s largest and most egregious surveillance programs for the last decade. The first attempt to reauthorize it was through the introduction of the USA Liberty Act.

As The Free Thought Project reported, Congress claimed the bill would “better protect Americans’ privacy” by requiring the government to have “a legitimate national security purpose” before searching an individual’s database.
However, what the bill did not advertise was the fact that it did not actually address the legitimate problems that exist with Section 702.

The FBI’s “legitimate national security purpose” could be justified by just about any reason the agency chooses to give, and agents would only need supervisory authority in order to search Americans’ metadata.
When the USA Liberty Act failed, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence introduced the FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017, which renewed Section 702 for six years, after it was included in a massive spending bill passed by Congress.

By signing the Fourth Amendment Rights Protection Act into law, the state of Michigan is taking a stand against the federal government’s unconstitutional practice of stealing data from innocent Americans without a warrant, and it is setting a precedent for other states in the country to follow.

Rachel Blevins is an independent journalist from Texas, who aspires to break the false left/right paradigm in media and politics by pursuing truth and questioning existing narratives. Follow Rachel on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Steemit and Patreon. This article first appeared at The Free Thought Project.

¤=[Post Update]=¤

Good job, Michigan!
Is every other State and Country listening?
I hope so!

[Valerie Villars]

Oh, Hooray! That is a piece of positive news. Thanks for posting that Dynamo.

In Louisiana, our legislature is dealing with mind numbing banalities like bestiality.

[Tam]

Michigan is passing good legislature as of late. Glad to hear it.

[Mark (Star Mariner)]

Posted by Valerie Villars (here)
In Louisiana, our legislature is dealing with mind numbing banalities like bestiality.

Say what? Is that like...an actual problem in Louisiana or something?

[Carmody]

Michigan is probably one of the most involved of the given 'sanctuary states'.

a question arises.

Is it there, this new law, in order to make sure that a problem erupts in Michigan, so a crackdown can happen? As in, after something ugly happens?

Always look for the backhanded reversed attempt.

Michigan is also the end point of the proposed north American highway corridor, as it branches out into Canada.

Some of these groups play both sides of the argument and motions, as that is the way to be most effective.

A pushback against the NSA is a good thing but who's driving it and what is it's purpose, is also key.

When you look at these things you have to think multifaceted, multi directional, reversed logic potentials. Look at all scenarios, ones both straightforward and of potential deviousness and/or duplicity.

the danger for this kind of open thinking of potentials, is the breaking of the sureness of the given minds who may read, which can, for some's conviction and stance in knowing... do more harm than good.

Essentially, I think this is a potential sign of a good pushback at oligarchy... but it may be used in other ways.

ie, if you think it is real and a good thing, then protect it against possible manipulations, via open awareness.

[dynamo]

Posted by Carmody (here)
...a question arises..

Is it there, this new law, in order to make sure that a problem erupts in Michigan, so a crackdown can happen? As in, after something ugly happens?

Always look for the backhanded reversed attempt.
....

Carmody, I don't know, but personally, I have moved away from this very line of thought.
My thoughts are turning more and more positive on a daily basis these past few years, as they were when I was younger, happier and not so interested in politics, religion and "conspiracies".
It tends to simplify my life, thoughts and actions to stay positive; these positive changes also reflect onto those around me, be they human or animals.
I found that my life was shifting to lower frequencies when I started reading about all the B.S. in this world, hence drawing my focus away from my "happiness".

I am not saying I am not interested (or aware of) in the negatives, of course I am.
I have merely stopped discussing them as they tend to "drag me down", when I feel that I should be "lifting those around me up" instead, so to speak.

At any rate, I am drifting off topic but had to get my 2 cents in.
Please, do carry on...
Cheers,
dynamo.

[shaberon]

Interesting. From what little I know of it, Michigan was pretty tight with McCarthy-era dragnetting and pretty draconian on the side of law enforcement in general. But hats off if they are indeed willing to tell the Feds to shove off. I'm impressed, that's one of the last places I would expect to "break ranks"...maybe it has changed a lot since those times?

[Smell the Roses]

Posted by shaberon (here)
Interesting. From what little I know of it, Michigan was pretty tight with McCarthy-era dragnetting and pretty draconian on the side of law enforcement in general. But hats off if they are indeed willing to tell the Feds to shove off. I'm impressed, that's one of the last places I would expect to "break ranks"...maybe it has changed a lot since those times?

I know a few of the state legislators of Michigan from having been a precinct delegate back when we thought Ron Paul was the answer. Some of them are surprisingly aware. I met with a Michigan State Senator a few weeks ago about another issue, and I was downright shocked about her willingness to talk openly about the "good old boys network", corruption, bribery, and other real political influences. There was a huge push here to get people involved at the local level and start rising through the ranks that largely grew out of the Ron Paul Liberty movement, but also comes from ordinary citizens finally deciding they have had enough.

[Valerie Villars]

Posted by Star Mariner (here)

Posted by Valerie Villars (here)
In Louisiana, our legislature is dealing with mind numbing banalities like bestiality.

Say what? Is that like...an actual problem in Louisiana or something?

Don't want to derail the thread, but apparently it had never been officially against the law. It just hadn't been dealt with.

[boolacalaca]

Regarding Michigan's actions, sounds like good news,
the type of push back to the 4th Reich that we need see happen.
Only caveat - and it's a big one - the deep state intelligence apparatus
has never paid attention to the rule of law; the history of their actions
demonstrates their contempt for due process and the will of the people.
A law that is not enforced is not much of a law.
It'll be interesting to see just how one state manages
to monitor the NSA and make them comply.

[shaberon]

Posted by Merry Mom (here)
I know a few of the state legislators of Michigan from having been a precinct delegate back when we thought Ron Paul was the answer. Some of them are surprisingly aware. I met with a Michigan State Senator a few weeks ago about another issue, and I was downright shocked about her willingness to talk openly about the "good old boys network", corruption, bribery, and other real political influences. There was a huge push here to get people involved at the local level and start rising through the ranks that largely grew out of the Ron Paul Liberty movement, but also comes from ordinary citizens finally deciding they have had enough.

This is good to hear. I'd say that even without the compromise of necessarily attaching names to the experience, this kind of statement deserves publicity. Both on its own merit, and also because some of us live in a kind of "copycat" state that never really does anything until it sees "safety in numbers". Whoever accomplishes the first step in these kinds of things has done the hardest part.

Also, because "old" is a factor of the network, we may expect that to an extent, it will die off with fewer replacements, as with the riddance of D. Rockefeller, his children/heirs are not interested in taking up his mission.