Dear Supporters,

Recent revelations lay bare the dangerous double standard in the surveillance state. While politicians and agencies claim they need ever-more invasive tools to "protect children," they quietly amass vast troves of Americans' private data through backdoor purchases — all while eyeing restrictions on the very tools (like VPNs) that ordinary citizens use to safeguard their privacy.

In March 2026, FBI Director Kash Patel openly admitted during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing that the FBI has resumed purchasing commercially available location data from data brokers to track Americans' movements and histories. This sidesteps traditional warrant requirements under the Fourth Amendment. Patel confirmed the practice provides "valuable intelligence" and declined to commit to stopping it, even when pressed by Sen. Ron Wyden.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other agencies have done the same, buying data originally harvested from phone apps and web tracking for advertising purposes.

This is the data broker loophole in action: Government agencies buy what they couldn't easily get with a warrant, turning private surveillance capitalism into a tool for state monitoring. Bipartisan legislation like the Government Surveillance Reform Act (introduced by Sens. Wyden, Lee and others) seeks to close this loophole and require warrants for such data — but the push for more control continues.

At the same time, some lawmakers argue that using a VPN could "strip you of your constitutional rights" or hinder child safety efforts. Proposals in states like Wisconsin and Michigan, along with UK-style discussions, have floated blocking or restricting VPNs to enforce age verification and content rules. The justification? Preventing minors from bypassing restrictions.

Yet governments and large companies continue using VPNs and advanced privacy tools for their own operations and security.

The hypocrisy is staggering:

• Government and agencies get warrantless access to bulk location data for tracking citizens.
• Big Tech and advertisers harvest and sell that data for profit.
• Ordinary Americans face pressure to surrender more data through OS-level age verification, while tools that protect privacy (VPNs) are demonized as loopholes.

This isn't about keeping children safe — it's about centralizing control and data while ordinary people lose anonymity and face heightened risks of identity theft from the very breaches these systems create. Companies with poor security records still demand more access, and "protect the children" becomes the perpetual excuse for eroding adult rights.

The greater internet community knows this: VPN usage surges wherever restrictive laws pass, and resentment grows as fans, creators, and privacy advocates see the pattern — more surveillance for us, more exemptions and tools for them.

The Digital Liberty Act directly counters this: It would prohibit unwarranted government purchases of bulk personal data, ban OS-level mandates that centralize tracking, protect anonymous speech and privacy tools like VPNs, and ensure child safety focuses on real harms and parental responsibility rather than blanket control.

Take action now:

• Sign the petition if you haven't.
• Share this update widely.
• Contact your representatives and demand support for bills closing the data broker loophole while rejecting VPN restrictions and invasive verification schemes.

Your privacy isn't a loophole — it's a right.

Together, we push back against the surveillance creep.

This update is grounded in March 2026 reporting on FBI Director Kash Patel's testimony and the bipartisan Government Surveillance Reform Act efforts. It connects the dots to the broader age-verification/VPN debates without exaggeration.