Kash Patel Says FBI Purchases Data To Track Americans

FBI Director Kash Patel said Wednesday that the FBI is purchasing data that allows the agency to track the location of American citizens.

The Statement: Patel, during the Senate Intelligence Committee's annual Worldwide Threats hearing, told members "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 to be utilized with our private and partner sectors."

The Data: The data being purchased is available to purchase from several data brokers, who collect and sell the data to improve targeted advertising to consumers. The information is garnered from several different mobile phone apps and games, and tracks not only location data but also online activity data.

Not Only FBI: According to Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the FBI is not the only agency doing this. The EFF reported that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are also using this data to help them locate unauthorized migrants in the US. The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Director James H. Adams III also told the panel that the DIA utilizes the data as well.

"Outrageous" and "Dangerous": Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee said "Doing that without a warrant is an outrageous end run around the Fourth Amendment," adding that "it's particularly dangerous given the use of artificial intelligence to comb through massive amounts of private information."

"Obtaining Public Information": Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), said since it is public information, the FBI "is entitled to search it the same way agents can legally dig through an individual's trash." Cotton added that "If any other person can buy it, and the FBI can buy it, and it helps them locate a depraved child molester or savage cartel leader, I would certainly hope the FBI is doing anything they can to keep Americans safe."

How The Media Covered It: Some outlets on the left, like The New Republic (Left bias) said that Patel "Brags" about the FBI buying the data, calling it a "gross invasion of privacy" and "unconstitutional." Outlets on both the left and right, like Politico (Lean Left) and Washington Times (Lean Right) mentioned Cotton's defense of the practice, however, Politico only gave a portion of Cotton's statement while Washington Times provided a broader statement from Cotton.  

Written by the AllSides staff (of humans). Learn more. Support our mission. Suggest an improvement to this summary.