FBI Reignites Location Data Purchases: Experts Warn of Privacy Concerns
The FBI has confirmed it has resumed buying location data of Americans without warrants, raising alarms over potential privacy violations.
FBI Director Kash Patel has revealed that the agency has restarted its practice of purchasing location data of American citizens without obtaining a warrant. This comes just three years after the FBI claimed it had stopped the controversial data acquisition program.
During a recent Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing, Patel acknowledged that the location data purchases have provided valuable information to the agency. However, he did not commit to halting the practice, raising concerns among privacy experts and civil liberties advocates.
This development comes after former FBI Director Christopher Wray had previously confirmed in March 2023 that the agency had purchased location data of U.S. citizens without a warrant as part of a national security pilot project. Wray had stated that the program was no longer active, but Patel's testimony now contradicts that claim.
Source: Ars Technica
