Policy & Regulation

FBI director Kash Patel confirmed the agency is purchasing commercially available

Director Kash Patel told senators the FBI purchases commercially available location data to support investigations. That data can be obtained from private brokers without a warrant, raising Fourth Amendment and ECPA concerns. Lawmakers are pushing bipartisan bills to impose warrant requirements.

1 source · Mar 18

Timeline

• Mar 18 Reported by TechCrunch Security

Sources

• Mar 18 TechCrunch Security

  FBI is buying location data to track US citizens, director confirms | TechCrunch

  FBI director Kash Patel told lawmakers that the agency is actively purchasing commercially available location data, which can track Americans without needing a warrant.

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Part of the PlainSec briefing for 2026-03-19

Every edition of this story: FBI director Kash Patel confirmed the agency is purchasing commercially available