"Federal law enforcement agencies generally must obtain a warrant, which requires establishing probable cause in the eyes of a judge, to gather historical or real-time cell phone location data. The US supreme court has ruled that the fourth amendment to the US constitution, which protects against unreasonable search and seizure, prohibits the warrantless collection of individuals' location histories."
"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, Patel responded. So you're saying that the agency will buy Americans' location data, Wyden said. I believe that that's what you've said in kind of intelligence lingo."
"Buying such information, usually en masse, can circumvent this requirement, leading many privacy advocates to label the practice unconstitutional. The FBI director's admission came in response to a question from Ron Wyden, a Democratic senator of Oregon and a longtime opponent of the warrantless surveillance of Americans."
The FBI has resumed buying location data on Americans, raising constitutional concerns about warrantless surveillance. Federal law enforcement typically requires warrants based on probable cause to collect cell phone location data, as the Supreme Court ruled the Fourth Amendment prohibits warrantless collection of location histories. However, purchasing location data in bulk from commercial sources can bypass these legal requirements. FBI Director Kash Patel disclosed this practice in response to Senator Ron Wyden's questioning about whether the agency continues purchasing location data derived from internet advertising. Patel stated the FBI purchases commercially available information consistent with the Constitution and Electronic Communications Privacy Act, claiming it yields valuable intelligence. Wyden characterized this practice as an unconstitutional end run around the Fourth Amendment, particularly concerning given artificial intelligence's capacity to analyze massive data volumes.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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