The FBI confirms it’s buying Americans’ location data

During a Senate hearing, FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed that the FBI has purchased commercially available information that can track individuals’ movement and location.
Patel stated that these purchases are consistent with laws under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and have yielded valuable intelligence.
The need for law enforcement to obtain a warrant for location data from cell providers is still mandated by Carpenter v United States ruling from 2018.
Sen. Ron Wyden criticized the practice of buying location data without a warrant as a dangerous end-run around the Fourth Amendment.
Wyden and several other lawmakers are advocating for an overhaul of how and when the government can access citizens’ personal information.
Patel has previously faced controversies over the questionable use of government resources.
Other instances of inappropriate surveillance include the Department of Homeland Security’s illegal tracking of immigration raid protestors and the Pentagon’s attempt to use Anthropic’s products for mass surveillance of Americans.

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