A lawsuit has been filed against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleging that Americans are being illegally monitored through data collection practices.
The lawsuit, led by the New Civil Liberties Union (NCLA), alleges that the SEC's Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) program violates people's Fourth Amendment rights to protect themselves from unreasonable government searches and seizures. claims.
According to NCLA, the SEC is overstepping boundaries by requiring brokers and trading platforms to submit detailed trading data to a centralized database without explicit Congressional approval.
This reportedly puts the financial information of millions of Americans at serious risk.
“By seizing all financial data from Americans trading on exchanges, the SEC is embezzling surveillance powers and billions of dollars without Congressional approval, and is threatening the lives of Americans,” said Peggy Little, senior litigation counsel at NCLA. are putting their savings and investments at risk.”
The CAT program was created during the Obama administration to strengthen regulatory oversight of financial markets through comprehensive data collection.
The program is funded by various fees collected from investment transactions, and critics like Little have called it “totally illegal.”
The lawsuit, filed in the Western District of Texas, identifies the CAT initiative as the most extensive government-mandated collection of personal financial data in U.S. history.
The complaint outlines concerns that modern surveillance capabilities are making it easier for governments to track individuals' financial activities, revealing private information about their financial lives and investment strategies.
In its defense, an SEC spokesperson argued that the commission's actions were consistent with its regulatory responsibilities.
However, the debate continues, with former Attorney General William Barr emphasizing in the Wall Street Journal that the government should not circumvent legal safeguards aimed at protecting citizens' private affairs for the sake of investigative convenience. Discussions continue from this perspective.
sauce: news room