Just because you work in a regulated industry doesn’t mean the government can watch you all the time. NCLA successfully challenged an unlawful and unconstitutional regulation by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), which required 24-hour GPS tracking of recreational charter boat fishing vessels and reporting of confidential economic data.

Essentially, this federal agency was forcing all charter boat captains to wear ankle monitors like convicted criminals, despite not having done anything wrong! Thankfully, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that NMFS violated the Administrative Procedure Act and, likely, the Fourth Amendment. But is the case over? Will NMFS simply reissue a substantively similar surveillance rule? How can we stop the federal government from spying on us with a massive regime of suspicion-less administrative search?

NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione moderates a panel discussion with Greg Grimsal, member of GAMB (Gordon Arata Montgomery Barnett), and Robert Alt, President and CEO of The Buckeye Institute, who submitted an amicus brief in support of the successful challenge.