US EditionFBI Is Buying Americans' Location Data, Director Patel Tells Senate
FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed the bureau buys location data from commercial brokers without warrants, enabling tracking of Americans' movements, sparking calls for legal reforms.
- During a Wednesday Senate hearing, Kash Patel, FBI Director, confirmed the agency purchases commercially available information, saying 'The FBI uses all tools... to do our mission'.
- On March 13, lawmakers introduced the Government Surveillance Reform Act to require warrants before agencies buy Americans’ data, as the FBI resumed commercial data purchases confirmed Wednesday.
- Data brokers source much of their location feeds from apps and ad‑tech services; James Adams, Defense Intelligence Agency Director, told senators his agency also purchases commercially available information.
- Public reaction mounted after Wyden posted on X that Kash Patel refused to deny buying Americans' location data, sparking outrage over an 'outrageous end run around the Fourth Amendment.'
- The legal theory that buying data avoids warrants remains untested in court and contrasts with the 2018 Supreme Court ruling on provider location data, while Wyden warned earlier this month about AI's risks from third-party location data.
37 Articles
37 Articles
Patel dodges question about FBI buying location data
Kash Patel says the FBI uses all the tools it has to accomplish its mission - even if those tools are questionable It's been three years since an FBI director admitted to purchasing the location data of Americans, potentially in violation of the Constitution. Here we go again.…
FBI Director Admits Buying Private Location Data To Track Americans, Skirting The Fourth Amendment
FBI Director Kash Patel admitted in a Senate hearing on Wednesday that the agency buys location data to track Americans’ movements and location history. Patel made this disclosure in response to a query from Oregon Senator Ron Wyden, a longstanding opponent of unwarranted surveillance of Americans. “We do purchase commercially available information that’s consistent with the Constitution and the laws under the Electronic Communications Privacy A…
Your location is being tracked by the FBI, and Patel just confirmed it
FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed Wednesday that the agency is actively purchasing information to track personal movement and location history, marking a shift in the bureau‘s public stance on data acquisition.
The agency buys personal information from 'data brokers', companies that collect the digital trail of citizens to sell it to third parties, without a warrant
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