With geolocation data, tracking ads, and your purchase history, the list of commercially available personal data that federal, state, and local law enforcement can acquire—using our own tax dollars to do so—is a long one. These developments have triggered one of the greatest ongoing privacy debates of the last half century. Police and public safety advocates argue that such data are vital to solving crimes. Critics claim the practice represents a direct end run around the Fourth Amendment.

Is the claim that such practices represent an actual “end run” around the Fourth Amendment valid? How have courts dealt with this issue? To what extent has Congress engaged? How does law enforcement’s purchase and use of commercial data differ in its effects on First and Fourth Amendment rights compared to social media surveillance? Our panel of experts will debate the facts and controversies involved in this high-profile public policy issue.