The FBI is circumventing warrant requirements with assistance from data brokers.
The FBI is circumventing warrant requirements with assistance from data brokers.
FBI Director Kash Patel conceded that the agency acquires location data that enables the tracking of individuals. This data can be obtained without a warrant, unlike information from cellphone providers, permitting the surveillance of any individual.
“We do acquire commercially accessible data that aligns with the Constitution and laws under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, which has yielded significant intelligence for us,” Patel remarked at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Wednesday.
Patel did not agree to senators’ demands for the agency to cease purchasing Americans’ location data. “Conducting this without a warrant is a flagrant circumvention of the Fourth Amendment,” said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) during the hearing. “It’s particularly concerning given the application of artificial intelligence to sift through vast quantities of private data. This is a prime example of why Congress must enact our bipartisan, bicameral Government Surveillance Reform Act.”
In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that law enforcement must obtain a warrant to access individuals’ location data from cellphone companies. By acquiring this data through private brokers, the FBI can collect information on anyone it desires without needing a warrant.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK), the chair of the intelligence committee, defended the FBI’s actions regarding data acquisition. “The critical term is commercially available,” he remarked.
