The Federal Bureau of Investigation has started buying location data on Americans, Kash Patel, FBI director, said under oath at the Senate intelligence committee worldwide threats hearing on Wednesday. Wyden told Patel that his predecessor, Christopher Wray, testified in 2023 that the FBI did not at that time purchase location data derived from internet advertising, although he acknowledged that it had done so in the past. “So you’re saying that the agency will buy Americans’ location data,” Wyden said. 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. “This is a clear violation of the fourth amendment and is why I introduced the Government Surveillance Reform act,” Davidson observed, “to close the data broker loophole that allows intelligence agencies to buy Americans’ private data”.

Source: The Guardian March 19, 2026 01:01 UTC