FBI Resumes Purchasing Americans' Location Data Without Warrants, Director Patel Confirms
Key Takeaways
- ▸The FBI has resumed purchasing location data on US citizens without warrants, contradicting a 2023 claim that the practice had been halted
- ▸Director Patel stated the purchases produce 'valuable intelligence' but refused to commit to stopping the practice despite Fourth Amendment concerns
- ▸The practice exploits a legal loophole: while the Supreme Court requires warrants for carriers' records, data brokers selling aggregated location data fall outside that ruling
Summary
FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed during a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing that the agency has resumed purchasing commercially available location data on Americans without warrants, reversing a 2023 statement by then-Director Christopher Wray that the practice had been discontinued. Patel defended the purchases as valuable for national security operations and consistent with the Constitution and Electronic Communications Privacy Act, but declined to commit to ending the practice. The admission reignites debate over Fourth Amendment protections and prompted Senator Ron Wyden to call for passage of the bipartisan Government Surveillance Reform Act, which would require warrants for federal government purchases of location data. Senator Tom Cotton defended the practice, comparing it to law enforcement searching through publicly discarded trash, arguing that commercially available data should be accessible to law enforcement pursuing serious crimes.
- Lawmakers are divided, with Sen. Wyden calling the purchases an 'outrageous end-run around the 4th Amendment' while Sen. Cotton defends it as necessary for public safety
