Surveillance Accountability Act

Enhanced Privacy for Third-Party Data: The bill establishes a presumption that the government cannot access a person's data, metadata, or personal information held by third parties—such as internet service providers or cloud storage companies—without a valid warrant (Section 2(a)(2)).

Protection Against Contractual Waivers: It prevents companies from using contractual agreements to waive a user's warrant requirement, unless that waiver is explicit, knowing, and voluntary (Section 2(a)(2)(B)).

Limits on Automated Surveillance: The bill restricts the warrantless collection of biometric data, such as facial images or voice recognition, and vehicle movement patterns obtained through automated license plate readers, unless the person gave informed and voluntary consent (Section 2(c)).

Right to Legal Redress: It provides a right of action for individuals to sue for redress if they are subjected to the deprivation of rights or immunities secured by the Fourth Amendment (Section 3(a)).

Access to Legal Costs: In successful legal actions to enforce these rights, a court has the discretion to award the prevailing party reasonable attorney's fees (Section 3(a)(b)).

Restrictions on Information Collection: The bill limits the government's ability to collect or analyze information that is lawfully published or voluntarily made available to a public audience without a warrant, unless it requires no circumvention of privacy settings or encryption (Section 2(b)(3)).

Limitations on Public Data Usage: The bill restricts the warrantless collection of data even when it is exposed to public view or accessible to a third party, specifically regarding biometric data and license plate images, unless informed consent was provided (Section 2(c)).

Restrictions on Law Enforcement Employees: While the bill allows for a right of action, it explicitly states that a Federal employee cannot use this section to sue their own Federal employer or the Federal Government for conduct within the scope of their employment (Section 3(a)(d)).