Kash Patel admits under oath FBI is buying location data on Americans
3 hours ago
- #FBI
- #Fourth Amendment
- #Surveillance
- FBI Director Kash Patel admitted under oath that the FBI purchases location data on Americans, citing it as consistent with the constitution and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.
- Senator Ron Wyden criticized the FBI's practice of buying location data without a warrant, calling it a violation of the Fourth Amendment and dangerous due to AI's ability to process large amounts of private data.
- Wyden and others are pushing for the Government Surveillance Reform Act to close loopholes allowing intelligence agencies to buy private data from brokers without warrants.
- Law enforcement typically requires a warrant to obtain location data from telecom companies, but agencies bypass this by purchasing data from private brokers.
- Representative Warren Davidson supports Wyden's stance, emphasizing the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches and the need for legislative reform to prevent data purchases without warrants.