How the FBI legally tracks where you go online

TLDR:

• FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed the bureau buys Americans’ internet location data collected through online ads
• The admission reverses what his predecessor, Christopher Wray, told Congress in 2023
• The data is purchased legally from brokers — no warrant required
• Sen. Ron Wyden called it a Fourth Amendment violation; Sen. Tom Cotton defended it as fair game

The FBI is buying the location data of American internet users — and its own director just admitted it, contradicting what Congress was told three years ago.

Director Kash Patel told the Senate Intelligence Committee Wednesday that the bureau purchases commercially available data consistent with federal privacy law, saying it has produced “valuable intelligence.”

The admission reverses testimony from former Director Christopher Wray, who told the same committee in 2023 that the FBI did not, to his knowledge, buy Americans’ location data.

The data is harvested by brokers who track users through online advertising and sell it to improve targeted ads. Law enforcement can buy it without a warrant because it isn’t legally considered private information.

Sen. Ron Wyden, Oregon Democrat, called the practice unconstitutional. “It’s particularly dangerous given the use of artificial intelligence to comb through massive amounts of private information,” Mr. Wyden said.

Sen. Tom Cotton, Arkansas Republican, disagreed. If the FBI can legally buy the same data as anyone else, Mr. Cotton said, it should use every tool available to catch criminals and protect Americans.

Read more:

• Patel says FBI is now buying Americans’ internet location data