Crypto lawyers file amicus brief to challenge users’ Fourth Amendment privacy rights

Cryptocurrency advocacy group DEF Education Fund (DEF) has urged the United States court to consider the unique aspects of blockchain technology when evaluating cryptocurrency users' privacy rights under the Fourth Amendment.

On October 20, DEF filed an amicus brief with the US Court of Appeals (Court of First Instance) in support of James Harper's appeal against the Internal Revenue Service in the fight to prevent the US government from having unrestricted access to user transaction history on cryptocurrency. Forums.

Harper was one of 14,355 Coinbase users turned over to the IRS by a confidential exchange following a court order in 2017, sparking a fierce fight for digital privacy rights.

As per Harper v. The IRS is proud to support the industry by filing amicus briefs that include John Doe's pursuit of Coinbase.

Our CLO @amandatums broke… https://t.co/JidwyPMzcj

— DeFi Education Fund (@fund_defi) October 20, 2023

DEF has argued that the Fourth Amendment should be revised to balance law enforcement's investigative powers and an individual's right to financial privacy in the digital age.

“When precedents meet new technology, courts must ensure that the same level of privacy is afforded to the government when the Fourth Amendment was enacted.”

The Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution protects people from unreasonable government searches and attacks.

DEF points to the case of Carpenter v United States to argue that the Fourth Amendment limits the US government's ability to access information from third-party platforms like Coinbase.

The advocacy group also noted that since cryptocurrency transactions are on public ledgers, it is possible to link real-life identities to their pseudonymous addresses.

This affected the livelihoods of all 14,355 users in Coinbase's case, DEF said:

“The government's request in this case is to cover every transaction of every user, now and forever, ‘including family, political, professional, religious and sexual associations.'

“He gave the government a “detailed, encyclopedic and effortlessly compiled account” of the lives of Harper and 14,354 others,” the DF added.

This level of insight is far beyond what can be achieved with traditional bank records, the lobby group argues.

Related: Blockchain Privacy Groups Urge New US Congress to Protect Privacy Rights

4/ We argue that the court should consider the main difference between crypto technology and TradFi because blockchain data gives the government an intimate view of the past, present and future of a person's financial life. pic.twitter.com/KORSLRhqNY

— Amanda Tuminelli (@amandatums) October 20, 2023

The DeFi Education Fund's mission is to educate policymakers on the benefits of decentralized finance and achieve regulatory transparency for the DeFi ecosystem.

The final decision of Harper v Werfel and the Internal Revenue Service is expected to set the precedent for digital privacy rights and law enforcement actions in the US.

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