(Chris Parker, Headline USA) Wisconsin GOP Sen. Ron Johnson has opened a probe into the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s elusive cellphone-tracking program, reported by Madeleine Hubbard of Just the News.
This investigation comes on the heels of an FOIA request revealing alarming efforts by the CDC to track Americans’ cellphone activity.
In that document, it was revealed that the CDC spent $420,000 of American taxpayer money to obtain data on the habits of millions of Americans based on cellphone usage. Now, Johnson is demanding answers on the constitutionality of that decision.
The CDC paid special attention to schools and churches, as well as curfew compliance, according to the document obtained by Vice Motherboard.
During the COVID-19 lockdowns, state and local governments were frequently accused of acting in an unconstitutional manner when they forced churches and other places of worship to close. The Supreme Court eventually ruled in their favor.
The First Amendment protects religious liberties without constraint – and that includes the call to fellowship. The 10th Amendment reserves powers not granted to the federal government for the states and the American people.
It seems likely that the CDC violated both amendments, while also undermining the right to privacy. Johnson stated. “I think the government is becoming way too big, and way too powerful,” according to Just the News.
Johnson also wants to know what CDC officials at doing with that information, whether they are continuing to gather it, and how else they may have illegally monitored Americans.
So far, the CDC has been elusive in answering these concerns. According to Johnson, who serves on the Homeland Security Committee’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, he has sent out dozens of oversight letters to federal agencies with “very few answers.”
Johnson’s probe comes at a time when the American public is becoming increasingly concerned about the data monitoring and collection practices of governments and corporations.
According to the Pew Research Center, “64% of Americans report they feel very or somewhat concerned about how the government is using the data it collects about them.
That poll was taken and published before COVID-19 and the era of contact tracing.
