FBI Is Buying Location Data To Track US Citizens, Director Confirms (techcrunch.com)
(Wednesday March 18, 2026 @11:30PM (BeauHD)
from the would-you-look-at-that dept.)
- Reference: 0181037926
- News link: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/03/18/217205/fbi-is-buying-location-data-to-track-us-citizens-director-confirms
- Source link: https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/18/fbi-is-buying-location-data-to-track-us-citizens-kash-patel-wyden/
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch:
> The FBI has [1]resumed purchasing reams of Americans' data and location histories to aid federal investigations, the agency's director, Kash Patel, testified to lawmakers on Wednesday. This is the first time since 2023 that the FBI has confirmed it was buying access to people's data collected from data brokers, who source much of their information -- including location data -- from ordinary consumer phone apps and games, per [2]Politico . At the time, then-FBI director Christopher Wray [3]told senators that the agency had bought access to people's location data in the past but that it was not actively purchasing it.
>
> When [4]asked by U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, if the FBI would commit to not buying Americans' location data, Patel said that the agency "uses all tools ... to do our mission." "We do purchase commercially available information that is consistent with the Constitution and the laws under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act -- and it has led to some valuable intelligence for us," Patel testified Wednesday. Wyden said buying information on Americans without obtaining a warrant was an "outrageous end-run around the Fourth Amendment," referring to the constitutional law that protects people in America from device searches and data seizures.
[1] https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/18/fbi-is-buying-location-data-to-track-us-citizens-kash-patel-wyden/
[2] https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/18/fbi-buying-data-track-people-patel-00834080
[3] https://www.wired.com/story/fbi-purchase-location-data-wray-senate/
[4] https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:ifevtgk3w7ov6zjmgy333jkr/post/3mhdtway57s2n
> The FBI has [1]resumed purchasing reams of Americans' data and location histories to aid federal investigations, the agency's director, Kash Patel, testified to lawmakers on Wednesday. This is the first time since 2023 that the FBI has confirmed it was buying access to people's data collected from data brokers, who source much of their information -- including location data -- from ordinary consumer phone apps and games, per [2]Politico . At the time, then-FBI director Christopher Wray [3]told senators that the agency had bought access to people's location data in the past but that it was not actively purchasing it.
>
> When [4]asked by U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, if the FBI would commit to not buying Americans' location data, Patel said that the agency "uses all tools ... to do our mission." "We do purchase commercially available information that is consistent with the Constitution and the laws under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act -- and it has led to some valuable intelligence for us," Patel testified Wednesday. Wyden said buying information on Americans without obtaining a warrant was an "outrageous end-run around the Fourth Amendment," referring to the constitutional law that protects people in America from device searches and data seizures.
[1] https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/18/fbi-is-buying-location-data-to-track-us-citizens-kash-patel-wyden/
[2] https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/18/fbi-buying-data-track-people-patel-00834080
[3] https://www.wired.com/story/fbi-purchase-location-data-wray-senate/
[4] https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:ifevtgk3w7ov6zjmgy333jkr/post/3mhdtway57s2n
No shit sherlock (Score:2)
by GameboyRMH ( 1153867 )
It would actually be news if they *weren't* buying the location data openly available on the market.
The only way to fix this massive privacy problem is to make it illegal for companies to collect this information in the first place.
trump supporters speak up. now is your chance (Score:1)
by tigerstyle ( 10502925 )
anyone who voted for trump please tell us all how this is ok
Excellent news, I guess (Score:3)
Now you know who is the enemy that has to be monitored constantly. And if you have nothing to hide, well, what's the difference, right?