Law enforcement agencies are increasingly buying aggregated and individual-level location histories from commercial data brokers instead of obtaining location data through warrants. This creates a practical pathway for state actors to monitor Americans' movements using data collected by ordinary consumer apps and games, outside the typical judicial oversight.
— If public authorities routinely rely on commercially traded location feeds, constitutional protections and warrant standards will be undermined unless the law or policy adapts.
BeauHD
2026.03.19
100% relevant
FBI director Kash Patel testified that the agency 'does purchase commercially available information' including location data from data brokers, and Senator Ron Wyden called such purchases an 'end-run around the Fourth Amendment.'
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