Official announcements or actions taken by government bodies

House Report: FBI's Unwarranted Surveillance of Americans' Financial Data via Bank Secrecy Act, 25.4 Million Reports Filed

Dec 6, 2024, 10:40 PM

A recent House Judiciary Committee report has raised concerns about the federal government's use of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) to surveil Americans' financial data without warrants. The report indicates that federal law enforcement has exploited the Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) system, allowing them to access individuals' banking information under the guise of monitoring suspicious transactions. In 2023, banks filed a staggering 25.4 million SARs, with many reports generated for legal transactions. The report highlights that terms associated with certain political affiliations, such as 'MAGA' and 'Trump', were flagged as 'extremism indicators', suggesting a troubling intersection of financial oversight and political surveillance. Lawmakers, including Rep. Barry Moore, have criticized this practice as an invasion of privacy and an abuse of the BSA, which was originally intended to combat financial crime.