this post was submitted on 03 Mar 2026
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77
CBP Tapped Into the Online Advertising Ecosystem To Track Peoples’ Movements (www.404media.co)
submitted 14 hours ago by tonytins@pawb.social to c/technology@lemmy.world
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Customs and Border Protection (CBP) bought data from the online advertising ecosystem to track peoples’ precise movements over time, in a process that often involves siphoning data from ordinary apps like video games, dating services, and fitness trackers, according to an internal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) document obtained by 404 Media.

The document shows in stark terms the power, and potential risk, of online advertising data and how it can be leveraged by government agencies for surveillance purposes. The news comes after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) purchased similar tools that can monitor the movements of phones in entire neighbourhoods. ICE also recently said in public procurement documents it was interested in sourcing more “Ad Tech” data for its investigations. Following 404 Media’s revelation of that ICE purchase, on Tuesday a group of around 70 lawmakers urged the DHS oversight body to conduct a new investigation into ICE’s location data buying.

This sort of information is a “goldmine for tracking where every person is and what they read, watch, and listen to,” Johnny Ryan, director of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) Enforce, which has closely followed the sale of advertising data, told 404 Media in an email.

https://web.archive.org/web/20260303141140/https://www.404media.co/cbp-tapped-into-the-online-advertising-ecosystem-to-track-peoples-movements/

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[–] sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 13 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

Wow!

Another reason to block ads by literally any means possible!

[–] rhymeswithduck@sh.itjust.works -5 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

That's not blocking them from tracking you. You're only blocking yourself from seeing the ads they've chosen to show you based on the tracking they've already done.

[–] sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago)

It depends on the exact kind of ad, kind of tracking it uses, and kind of blocking method you're using.

Are you ever 100% untracked?

No.

But this is a data game, the less you give up, the less they have, the less accurate it is, the more stale it is, the less specific things about you can be gleaned from it.

ublock origin + canvas blocker + privacy badger + forcing DOH by default?

Thats a lot better than doing nothing.

Much of the existing stuff doesn't even load, meaning it can't even attempt to assign to you a unique advertiserID, it doesn't even get to the stage of trying to send you a specific ad, because you have no engagement with the system.