Privacy advocates sound alarm on ‘data broker loophole’ used by FBI, other federal agencies

Source Domain: fedscoop.com

The data broker loophole is top of mind for privacy advocates following FBI Director Kash Patel’s congressional testimony earlier this week, during which he confirmed the Department of Justice component is paying for data that is then used in law enforcement operations.

When asked by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., if he could commit to not buying Americans’ location data, Patel said the FBI “uses all tools” to do its mission.

“We do purchase commercially available information that’s consistent with the Constitution and the laws under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act,” Patel said under oath. “It has led to some valuable intelligence for us.”

The FBI did not respond directly to FedScoop’s questions about oversight of these purchases and whether there are audits to prevent misuse. A spokesperson said: “The Director did not state the FBI is purchasing Americans’ location data.”

Privacy advocates say the comments are just the latest example of the opaque nature in which these dataset procurements are conducted.

“It further underscores the fact that we lack sufficient transparency in order to have meaningful oversight of what the government is doing,” said Alan Butler, executive director and president of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. “We’re truly in a kind of black hole.”

The data broker ecosystem has ballooned over the past decade or so, resulting in a multibillion-dollar industry. The mass data aggregation typically stems from user activity on a website or app, and approval for sharing this data can be buried in the hundreds of pages of terms and conditions that accompany each application.

Data brokers sell information tied to an individual’s behavior and location, according to Thomas Daly, CEO and founder of privacy management software company mePrism.

“By paying data brokers, the government can track individuals in real time and in deeply personal ways without a…

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