WASHINGTON, D.C. — Your digital footprint can be bought and sold by data brokers and now there are some concerns that includes the federal government.
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“Investigative reporters have discovered that federal agencies have secretly been paying data brokers to gain access to vast troves of Americans’ personal data including cell phone location,” said Elizabeth Goitein, Senior Director of Liberty & National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice.
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Goitein said some federal agencies are finding loopholes around a 2018 Supreme Court ruling that requires law enforcement officials to get a warrant to access your cell phone location history.
“The court reasoned that this information can reveal the most intimate details about someone’s life, associations, habits, even their beliefs.” Said Goitein. “Moreover there really nothing voluntary about sharing this information because cell phones aren’t optional in modern society.”
Newly released documents from the ACLU show ICE and other parts of U.S. Department of Homeland Security secretly bought location data.
There is no end run around the Fourth Amendment.
— ACLU (@ACLU) July 18, 2022
Congress needs to pass the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act, which would require the government to secure a court order before buying our data from brokers. https://t.co/mq3RotZIEU
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Moving forward, some advocates are urging congress to pass the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act, which would prohibit government agencies from accessing personal data without a court order.
“U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies will still have powerful legal tools at their fingertips which to follow leads that can catch terrorists, spies and dangerous criminals. They will just have to follow the rules,” said Bob Goodlatte, senior policy advisor at the Project for Privacy & Surveillance Accountability.
Republican Congressman Jim Jordan is echoing the need to crack down on this issue.
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“This must include us taking a look at government’s access to commercially available bulk data and its use of tools like PEGUS that allows them to spy on encrypted mobile devices,” said Rep. Jordan. “It should also include us considering restrictions on the government’s use of facial recognition technology within the United States to target citizens.”
We reached out to ICE and the Department of Homeland Security this afternoon and an ICE spokesperson says they are working on this request. We have not heard back from DHS.
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