State Sen. Myrie launches probe into DHS’s quest of New Yorkers' data – spectrumlocalnews.com

State Sen. Myrie launches probe into DHS’s quest of New Yorkers’ data  spectrumlocalnews.com

A probe is underway into federal surveillance practices. A probe is underway into federal surveillance practices as a New York state senator seeks answers on the potential efforts from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to obtain New Yorkers’ data. It’s after state Democratic Sen. Zellnor Myrie sent a formal letter to DHS and made similar inquiries of other major companies. “We are potentially seeing a federal administration that is unconstitutionally violating people’s privacy,” said Myrie. “It could be the case that, right now, you have had your phone records, your bank records, other private records subpoenaed, asked for without a judicial warrant, without going through the process.” “Public court filings, the Department of Homeland Security’s own Inspector General’s warnings, and feedback from constituents all indicated that since at least January 2025, DHS has used various methods – including, but not limited to, administrative warrants that do not need judicial approval to obtain personal or otherwise private information of individuals from third parties such as Meta, X, Redditt, Google, PayPal/Venmo, T-Mobile and local law enforcement.” Myrie, chair of the state Senate’s Codes Committee, is seeking information about the agency’s requests.

In inquiries to the companies, Myrie asked how they “evaluate government demands for customer information and the process for notifying users when their information is disclosed.” Myrie shares what he