Mon Jan 1, 0001

Data Brokers and Government Access

Fog Data Science

Sold Fog Reveal tool to law enforcement. AP investigation (September 2022): ~80 agencies purchased or tested it, including local police and Arkansas State Police. Contracts $6,000-$9,000/year. EFF obtained FOIA records showing granular device tracking at specific locations. Data sourced from smartphone ad ecosystem.

Venntel (Gravy Analytics subsidiary)

CBP and ICE purchased location data. CBP paid ~$476,000 (2018-2020, USAspending). DHS Inspector General report (September 2023): CBP, ICE, Secret Service used commercial telemetry data without adequate privacy safeguards. Internal CBP memo (FOIA): officials understood this data could substitute for geofence warrants.

Babel Street (Locate X)

CBP used for border enforcement. WSJ (2020): used to track phones at protests, rallies, and houses of worship using commercial location data.

LexisNexis (Accurint)

ICE contracts worth millions. Georgetown Law Center on Privacy & Technology (2022) documented extensive ICE use. Compiles: addresses, phone records, utility records, license plates, employment history, known associates.

SafeGraph

Sold aggregated smartphone location data from app SDKs (~45 million phones). CDC purchased for COVID mobility analysis ($420,000, 2021; Vice/Motherboard, May 2022). Google banned SafeGraph from Play Store (June 2022).

Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill (2021)

Outed by The Pillar via commercially purchased Grindr location data. Single person tracked to specific locations over time, data purchased on open market.

X-Mode Social

Sold location data from Muslim prayer apps (including Muslim Pro, 98M downloads) to defense contractors. Vice/Motherboard (November 2020).

No appellate court has held that government purchase of commercial location data requires a warrant. Government position: commercially available data falls outside Fourth Amendment per third-party doctrine.

Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act: Introduced by Sen. Ron Wyden (2021, reintroduced 2023). Would require warrants for government purchase of commercial data. Has not passed.

Sources

  • AP investigation on Fog Data Science (September 2022)
  • DHS IG report (September 2023)
  • Georgetown Law Center on Privacy & Technology (2022)
  • Vice/Motherboard on SafeGraph/CDC (May 2022)
  • Vice/Motherboard on X-Mode (November 2020)
  • The Pillar on Burrill (July 2021)
  • WSJ on Babel Street (2020)