A federal judge last week held that the federal government tried to skirt the First Amendment when it pressured social media companies to suppress “misinformation” during the pandemic. The judge’s conclusions will be litigated further, but they highlight the dangers inherent when private parties are used as government proxies to limit public debate.
But free speech isn’t the only vital liberty at risk under such a scheme. Government agents have also eroded the Fourth Amendment by using the private sector to avoid constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.
Last month, Rep. Warren Davidson, an Ohio Republican, and Rep. Sara Jacobs, a Democrat from California, added an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would require the government to obtain a warrant before purchasing data on Americans from private information brokers.
