"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. So you're saying that the agency will buy Americans' location data. I believe that that's what you've said in kind of intelligence lingo. And I just want to say as we start this debate, doing that without a warrant is an outrageous end run around the fourth amendment."
"While law enforcement must get a judge-authorized search warrant to obtain location data directly from telecom companies, government agencies have instead been able to buy such information from private data brokers. It's particularly dangerous given the use of artificial intelligence to comb through massive amounts of private information."
FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed under oath that the agency purchases commercially available location data on Americans, derived from internet advertising and other sources. This admission came during Senate testimony when Senator Ron Wyden questioned whether the FBI continued the practice despite former FBI Director Christopher Wray's 2023 testimony indicating the agency had stopped. Patel justified the purchases as consistent with constitutional law and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, claiming they yield valuable intelligence. Wyden criticized the practice as an unconstitutional end-run around the Fourth Amendment, particularly concerning given artificial intelligence's capacity to analyze massive datasets. He advocated for passage of the bipartisan Government Surveillance Reform Act to restrict such surveillance activities.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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