Restore the Fourth

It was named after the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution that guarantees protection against “unreasonable searches and seizures.” ²

Activities

Protests

For its first several years, Restore the Fourth used mass protests to draw attention to its cause. On July 4, 2013, the organization held its first demonstration, called “Restore the Fourth,” across dozens of cities, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, New York, Washington, D.C. ² The protest gained momentum on Reddit with people connecting and planning online. The event was sparked by Edward Snowden’s leaks about U.S. government programs that allegedly collected information from phone and Internet companies. This protest demanded that the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs shut down. ^{3  4}

Following Restore the Fourth’s first protest, another was organized called “Stop Watching Us,” held in Washington, D.C. in October 2013. During the protest, a message was read aloud to attendees from Snowden and Thomas Drake, who had publicized information about the NSA. ⁵

After the police-involved death of George Floyd in 2020 in Minneapolis and the subsequent riots that followed, Restore the Fourth gained more traction, especially with the Restore the Fourth Minnesota (RT4MN) branch of the organization to restrict government access to information and surveillance. ⁶

Partners

Restore the Fourth has partnered with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to create an anti-surveillance coalition and Community Control Over Police Surveillance (CCOPS), a campaign that advocates for reducing law enforcement’s ability to utilize surveillance technologies. ^{7  8  6}

Launched in 2016, CCOPS claims that surveillance technologies by local police “unjustly target” communities of color and low-income people, creating what it calls “open air prisons.” During President Donald Trump’s first term in office, CCOPS-backed approaches were adopted more widely because of what the ACLU claimed was a more aggressive policing of communities of color due to immigration laws. In 2020, CCOPS gained more traction due to the death of George Floyd and a greater defund the police and divest movements. ⁹

Public Statement on Congressional Investigation

By 2026, Restore the Fourth’s work had shifted toward signing joint letters, supporting surveillance reform legislation, and engaging with federal agencies on privacy issues. In June 2025, then-U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark E. Green (R-TN) and Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability Chairman Josh Brecheen (R-OK) requested the records of more than 200 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that received taxpayer-funded contracts during the 2021 to 2025 border crisis and immigration surge, with lawmakers alleging the nonprofits may have “facilitated illegal activity.” ¹⁰

In response, more than 600 groups including Restore the Fourth, signed a public statement condemning the investigation. The signatories argued that these groups provided federally authorized services under valid grants to help immigrants, workers, youth, and local communities. The letter claimed the probe was a weaponization of U.S. Congressional power. ¹¹

CLOUD ACT

Restore the Fourth was a signatory, alongside the ACLU, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), and more than 20 other nonprofit organizations, to a letter sent to Congress opposing the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act. The CLOUD Act, enacted in 2018, allowed U.S. law enforcement to access data stored overseas by American technology companies and enables executive agreements with foreign governments to facilitate cross-border data requests. Critics, including Restore the Fourth, argued that the law could weaken privacy protections by permitting access to personal data without sufficient judicial oversight and by allowing foreign governments to obtain data on U.S. citizens. ¹²

FBI Letter

In March 2025, Restore the Fourth joined 22 other organizations in sending a letter to FBI director Kash Patel requesting a meeting to discuss surveillance reform and transparency. The organizations wanted to discuss government surveillance practices and the need for stronger privacy protections. The letter urged reforms, including requiring warrants for searches of Americans’ communications, reflecting concerns about warrantless surveillance and oversight. ¹³

Funding

DuckDuckGo, an internet search engine that claims to ensure users’ privacy, donated approximately $208,000 between 2017 and 2025 to Restore the Fourth. ¹⁴ Restore the Fourth stated that this was the only corporate donation it has received. ¹⁵