The FBI is purchasing information that can track people’s movements and location histories, Director Kash Patel told senators Wednesday, marking the first public confirmation that the agency is actively acquiring Americans’ data.
“We do purchase commercially available information that’s consistent with the Constitution and the laws under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, and it has led to some valuable intelligence for us,” Patel said during the Senate Intelligence Committee’s annual Worldwide Threats hearing.
Underreported: While testifying on Capitol Hill earlier today, FBI Director Kash Patel and the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Lieutenant General James Adams, were asked whether their agencies have purchased the location data of Americans from data companies in the… pic.twitter.com/cpPAKq10PH
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The FBI declined to provide further details, including how often it purchases location data or which brokers it uses.
Patel’s testimony comes three years after former FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress the agency had bought location data in the past but was not actively doing so.
Government agencies must secure a court warrant before accessing private data from tech or phone companies. But in recent years, federal agencies have circumvented this process by buying data from brokers who aggregate information from phone apps and real-time bidding services used in advertising, which can include location tracking.
The Defense Intelligence Agency also purchases commercially available information, according to its director, James Adams, who also testified at the hearing.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., criticized the practice as a violation of privacy rights. “Doing that without a warrant is an outrageous end run around the Fourth Amendment, it’s particularly dangerous given the use of artificial intelligence to comb through massive amounts of private information,” he said.
Committee Chair Tom Cotton, R-Ark., defended the data purchases, saying: “The key words are commercially available. If any other person can buy it, and the FBI can buy it, and it helps them locate a depraved child molester or savage cartel leader, I would certainly hope the FBI is doing anything it can to keep Americans safe.”
Last week, Wyden and several other lawmakers unveiled the bipartisan, bicameral Government Surveillance Reform Act, which would require federal agencies to obtain a court-issued warrant before purchasing Americans’ information from data brokers.
