FBI confirms purchase of location data to monitor US citizens

The FBI has resumed purchasing large volumes of Americans’ data, including location histories, to support federal investigations, according to testimony given by agency director Kash Patel to lawmakers on Wednesday.

This marks the first confirmation since 2023 that the FBI is actively buying access to such data from brokers. These data brokers gather information — including detailed location data — from everyday consumer sources like mobile apps and games, as previously reported by Politico. In 2023, then-FBI director Christopher Wray acknowledged that the agency had previously purchased location data but said it was not actively doing so at that time.

During the hearing, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon asked Patel whether the FBI would commit to refraining from purchasing Americans’ location data. Patel responded that the agency relies on all available tools to carry out its mission.

“We do purchase commercially available information that is consistent with the Constitution and the laws under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act — and it has led to some valuable intelligence for us,” Patel said in his testimony.

Wyden criticised the practice, describing it as an attempt to bypass constitutional protections. He argued that acquiring such data without a warrant represents an “outrageous end-run around the Fourth Amendment,” which safeguards Americans against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Under normal circumstances, government agencies must obtain a judge-approved warrant, typically based on evidence of a crime, before accessing private data held by technology or telecommunications companies. However, in recent years, agencies have increasingly turned to purchasing commercially available data instead, avoiding the need for a warrant. This data is often collected through tracking technologies embedded in apps or other digital services.

For instance, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has previously purchased datasets derived from real-time bidding (RTB) systems, according to documents obtained by 404 Media. RTB is a key component of the online advertising ecosystem, collecting user information such as location and other identifiers to target ads. Surveillance companies can observe these transactions, extract location data, and then sell it to data brokers or government entities seeking to bypass traditional legal processes.

The FBI maintains that it does not require a warrant to use this type of commercially obtained data in investigations. However, this legal interpretation has yet to be fully tested in court.

In response to these concerns, Wyden and several other lawmakers introduced the Government Surveillance Reform Act last week. The bipartisan and bicameral proposal aims, among other provisions, to require federal agencies to obtain a court-approved warrant before purchasing Americans’ personal data from data brokers.