Democratic lawmaker demands an investigation into, ‘bulk surveillance program’
Oregon Democratic Senator Ron Wyden wrote a letter to the Department of Justice’s Inspector General this week calling for a deep investigation into the relationship between federal law enforcement and TRAC. Though Wyden previously disclosed information regarding money transfer surveillance by the Department of Homeland Security last year, the new trove of documents reportedly includes many more states and foreign governments than was previously known.
My investigation uncovered that the U.S. government is conducting mass surveillance on domestic and international money transfers. Now, I’m calling on the DOJ to open an investigation into this practice and its impact on Americans’ rights. https://t.co/J6cedcORM0
— Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) January 18, 2023
“This unorthodox arrangement between state law enforcement, DHS and DOJ agencies to collect bulk money-transfer data raises a number of concerns about surveillance disproportionately affecting low-income, minority and immigrant communities,” Wyden said in a statement. “Members of these communities are more likely to use money transfer services because they are more likely to be unbanked, and therefore unable to send money using electronic checking or international bank wire transfers, which are often cheaper. Moreover, money transfer businesses are not subject to the same protections as bank-based transactions under the Right to Financial Privacy Act.”
