FBI Admits Buying Location Data Without Warrants: A Guide to Protecting Your Privacy
By
Mark Ramm
Summary
The article reports on FBI Director Kash Patel's testimony that the Bureau purchases Americans' location data without a warrant, reversing his predecessor's 2023 commitment. It then pivots into a detailed field guide for shrinking one's personal data footprint, offering practical strategies for reducing digital surveillance exposure in light of this government practice.
Source
Key quotes
· 3 pulledAsked under oath last week whether he would commit to not buying Americans' location data without a warrant, the Director of the FBI declined.
Kash Patel told the Senate Intelligence Committee on March 18 that the Bureau 'purchases commercially available information'
a flat reversal of what his predecessor told Congress in 2023, and a public confirmation of the thing privacy advocates have warned about for years: the government doesn't need a warrant for your movements if it can just buy them.
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