US Agencies Acknowledge Buying Commercial Data for Location Tracking
US government agencies are facing renewed scrutiny over their use of commercially available data—including data derived from the online advertising ecosystem—to track people without a warrant. Reporting cited in one account says Customs and Border Protection (CBP) used “commercially available marketing location data” tied to the same ad-tech systems that power targeted advertising, reinforcing long-standing concerns that surveillance advertising infrastructure can be repurposed for government monitoring. The reporting frames the issue as direct evidence that location data harvested for ad targeting can also support state surveillance.
At the same time, FBI Director Kash Patel told the Senate Intelligence Committee that the bureau purchases commercially available information, after being pressed on whether the FBI buys data that could be used to track Americans. Sen. Ron Wyden argued that purchasing such data without a warrant is a workaround to Fourth Amendment protections and renewed calls for legislative limits, including the Government Surveillance Reform Act. Together, the reports show that both border and federal law enforcement agencies are relying on the commercial data broker and ad-tech ecosystem for intelligence and location-tracking purposes, intensifying the policy debate over privacy, warrant requirements, and the broader security implications of pervasive data collection.
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How this story unfolded
6 events from the most recent confirmed update back to the earliest known activity.
FBI director confirms bureau buys commercially available data
FBI Director Kash Patel testified under oath before the Senate Intelligence Committee that the FBI purchases commercially available data, acknowledging a practice that could be used to track Americans. Sen. Ron Wyden challenged the practice as a warrantless workaround to constitutional protections.
Lawmakers introduce bill to require warrants for purchased personal data
Sens. Ron Wyden and Mike Lee introduced the Government Surveillance Reform Act to require federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies to obtain a warrant before buying Americans' personal information from data brokers. A House companion bill was also introduced by Reps. Zoe Lofgren and Warren Davidson.
404 Media reveals CBP use of ad-tech data for movement tracking
404 Media reported that an internal DHS document showed CBP tapped the online advertising ecosystem to track people's movements. The report described this as the first public evidence of CBP using ad-tech-derived location data in this way.
ICE purchases access to similar commercial location-tracking tools
Reporting states that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement also bought access to comparable commercially sourced mobile location intelligence tools. This placed ICE among the agencies using brokered location data for tracking purposes.
Former FBI director says FBI was not buying ad-based location data
In 2023 testimony cited in later reporting, former FBI Director Christopher Wray said that, to his knowledge, the FBI was not then purchasing commercial location data from internet advertising. That statement became a point of contrast for later Senate testimony.
CBP runs pilot using ad-tech location data to track phones
An internal Department of Homeland Security document shows U.S. Customs and Border Protection used location data sourced from the online advertising ecosystem during a pilot program. The reporting says the pilot ran from 2019 to 2021 and used real-time bidding-derived marketing data to track phone movements.
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Sources
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Kash Patel confirms FBI buys your data instead of getting a warrant - Boing Boing
boingboing.net
Open sourceThe Government Uses Targeted Advertising to Track Your Location. Here’s What We Need to Do. | Techdirt
techdirt.com
Open sourceFBI Confirms Buying Data That Could Be Used to Track Americans - CNET
cnet.com
Open sourceFBI is buying data that can be used to track people, Patel says - POLITICO
politico.com
Open sourceCBP Tapped Into the Online Advertising Ecosystem To Track Peoples’ Movements
404media.co
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U.S. Federal Agencies Expand Warrantless Commercial Surveillance and Location Data Purchases
The **Department of Homeland Security** and the **FBI** are expanding use of commercially available surveillance and data-tracking capabilities, prompting renewed scrutiny over privacy, civil liberties, and oversight. DHS is reportedly preparing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on surveillance technology in 2026, including a **$1 billion** blanket purchase agreement with *Palantir* and additional investments in AI-enabled monitoring, mobile tracking, and tools from vendors such as *Cellebrite* and *Paragon Solutions*. Advocacy groups and lawmakers have warned that these programs broaden the government’s ability to scan faces, track cell phone activity, and monitor both immigrants and U.S. citizens while governance mechanisms fail to keep pace. The **FBI** separately confirmed it has resumed buying Americans’ location and other commercially available data from brokers, reviving a practice the bureau had previously said it was not actively pursuing. Director **Kash Patel** told lawmakers the agency uses purchased data in ways it says are consistent with the Constitution and the **Electronic Communications Privacy Act**, while Sen. **Ron Wyden** characterized the practice as a warrantless workaround to Fourth Amendment protections. Reporting on DHS also indicates declining transparency, with Privacy Impact Assessment filings falling sharply and the department’s inspector general accusing the agency of obstructing audits tied to biometric data management and immigration enforcement, reinforcing concerns that federal surveillance capabilities are growing faster than meaningful oversight.
Mar 21, 2026
US and UK Immigration Agencies Seek Expanded Surveillance and Data-Analytics Capabilities
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a federal request for information seeking **commercial “Big Data and Ad Tech”** products—explicitly including *ad-tech compliant and location data services*—to “directly support investigative activities,” signaling continued interest in leveraging commercial data-broker and advertising-technology ecosystems for law-enforcement use. Related reporting highlights longstanding concerns that US agencies can sidestep Fourth Amendment warrant requirements by purchasing sensitive data about residents, and notes broader DHS/ICE enforcement activity that has increased scrutiny of surveillance practices and the downstream impacts of ad-tech tracking on affected communities. Separately, the UK Home Office’s Border Security Command is pursuing up to **£100M** in procurement for a “maritime situational awareness system” designed to autonomously detect, track, and identify small boats and other non-cooperative vessels, including fusing data from land-based and **BVLOS drones** into a managed “Coastal Maritime ISR Service.” In parallel, a viral “ICE List” site claimed to publish leaked personal data on thousands of DHS employees, but analysis found the database largely relies on **publicly available self-disclosed information** (notably LinkedIn), underscoring operational security risks from personnel oversharing even when no breach is involved.
Mar 21, 2026
Commercial Location Data Exposed U.S. Troops to Surveillance by Foreign Adversaries
The U.S. Department of Defense has confirmed that foreign adversaries used commercially available location data to target and surveil American military personnel in operational theaters, including the Middle East. A newly disclosed U.S. Central Command letter said it had received multiple threat reports involving hostile actors exploiting data collected from phones and computers through the advertising and data-broker ecosystem. Lawmakers led by Senator Ron Wyden and Representative Pat Harrigan said the disclosures amount to the first public confirmation that purchased commercial geolocation data was used against U.S. troops in active war zones, and warned that the ad-tech industry now poses a **national security threat**. The reports say Pentagon safeguards were insufficient: service members were allowed to use personal devices in operational areas, no policy required geolocation to be disabled in active war zones, and even government-issued devices did not fully block advertising-related tracking. Critics said the risk had been documented for years, citing contractor briefings dating back to 2016, demonstrations tracing personnel from U.S. bases to a covert site in Syria, and later studies showing brokers could easily sell sensitive data on service members. The Pentagon said it is moving to a new mobile device management system to better disable location services, but lawmakers warned that broader use of bring-your-own-device policies and weak regulation of data brokers continue to leave troops exposed.
Jun 10, 2026