US doctors pushback over massive new federal data collection rules

[Stone]

US doctors pushback over massive new federal data collection rules
The AAPS is challenging a federal mandate requiring small entity managers to report personal data, arguing it violates constitutional rights and threatens privacy. The case is pending in Amarillo, Texas.



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AAPS
Nov 9, 2024
(AAPS) — The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (“AAPS”) filed a Motion for a Preliminary Injunction against the new mandate requiring tens of millions of Americans to report personal information to the federal government.

By January 1, 2025, Americans who participate in managing small entities – even some political ones – must report their home addresses, birthdates, and other information such as driver’s license numbers to the federal government.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) is creating a massive new database of personal information about ordinary, law-abiding Americans, to share widely with other agencies and even internationally to facilitate federal investigations and prosecutions. FinCEN will assign a “FinCEN identifier” to everyone about whom it receives this information, the brief notes.

While there are some exemptions, most small medical practices are subjected to this regulatory burden and possible investigatory harassment, as are non-profit groups not officially qualified under Section 501©(3), AAPS notes.

The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) imposes up to two years imprisonment for failure to report this information to the federal government or failing to update home addresses. Fines can be up to $10,000 for violations.

“This is a vast expansion in federal police power, with its political bias that has worsened,” said AAPS General Counsel Andrew Schlafly. “Fortunately, multiple provisions of the U.S. Constitution stand firmly against this federal overreach.”

AAPS asks the federal court in Amarillo, Texas, to grant a preliminary injunction against this unconstitutional law based on the First, Fourth, Fifth, and Tenth Amendments. Other district courts have rendered decisions on both sides of this issue.

“Particularly alarming is how this new disclosure requirement will have the effect of taking away the right to own guns by those found to be in violation of the CTA,” Schlafly points out. “The two-year imprisonment under the CTA triggers revocation of the Second Amendment right under a federal gun control statute,” he adds.

This AAPS lawsuit is pending in U.S. District Court in Amarillo, Texas, No. 2:24-cv-210-Z.

Reprinted with permission from Association of American Physicians and Surgeons.