this post was submitted on 19 Mar 2026
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Admission came during questioning at Senate intelligence committee worldwide threats hearing

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has started buying location data on Americans, Kash Patel, FBI director, said under oath at the Senate intelligence committee worldwide threats hearing on Wednesday.

Patel’s admission came in response to a question from the senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat who is a longtime opponent of the warrantless surveillance of Americans. Wyden told Patel that his predecessor, Christopher Wray, testified in 2023 that the FBI did not at that time purchase location data derived from internet advertising, although he acknowledged that it had done so in the past.

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[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 10 points 4 hours ago (2 children)

They'll collect all this raw data, release the AI bots to crawl all over it, and soon they'll have a profile on every American, and we won't be able to get away with anything.

With all the traffic cameras being released, they will soon be tracking everybody in real time. Everybody breaks a traffic law, every day. Soon all that data will be added, and categorized as legal violations.

They will cross-reference everything, and they'll combine library late fees, bank overdrafts, traffic infractions, mistakes on your tax return, etc., and use it all to declare you a scofflaw, and send you off to the work camps, to be leased out to corporations as Federal 13th Amendment Work Slaves, which they will shorten to 13s.

[–] CovfefeKills@lemmy.world 2 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Soon they will have a profile on every american? Uhm like facebook?

Soon they will be tracking people in real time? Like with their phones?

They will cross cross reference everything? Like how digital advertising works?

You are wholly unprepared to open your eyes kid stay safe.

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 4 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago) (1 children)

I'm no kid, I understand all that. The difference is that before, there was the potential to track with all of that, but they weren't really using it for much more beyond using it to target us with ads for cheap consumer crap. It turns out, that was the data parasites just tuning up.

Now they are going to use AI to weaponize that same data, except the stuff you mentioned will only be a fraction of the thousands upon thousands of data points they will be able to collate, and then scan for patterns and keywords. And it won't be to sell us shit, it will be used to enslave us.

You are talking about the larval stage as if that was the end result. It's not, they still in the cocoon, morphing into their final stage, and it will be as abominable as anything in a Japanese monster movie.

[–] CovfefeKills@lemmy.world 0 points 2 hours ago

ahah dude everything you said will happen is happening except a public facing social credit thing. Laval stages of opening your eyes I guess. Stay safe!

[–] forrgott@lemmy.zip 1 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

Kinda like how the "cash for clunkers" was to remove vehicles from the highways that didn't have built in gps tracking (every car made since OnStar was a thing spies on you and can be located almost instantly via GPS and/or triangulation).

[–] MonkeMischief@lemmy.today 1 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

Wait what? I thought it was to mitigate pollution. Holy CRAP. Any source on this...?

[–] forrgott@lemmy.zip 1 points 39 minutes ago

My source is the depths of my ass where I pulled it from. But I think I'm right...

[–] TwilitSky@lemmy.world 7 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago) (1 children)

No one is allowed to feign surprise after the 1980s. CIA/NSA/Government Surveillance has been out in the open and on top of it people are just giving their own info away on social media.

Yeah that genie ain’t going back in the bottle sadly.

[–] sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 13 points 6 hours ago (2 children)

If you're surprised by this, you've either not been paying attention, are incredibly naive, or just are an idiot.

This is Palantir's business model.

This is what an information economy looks like.

The infobrokers, datahoarders... they sell to anyone with the money.

They're the platform.

Governments and other corps are the clients.

But laws, you say!

They prevent this, this can't be legal!

Again, you haven't been paying attention, or somehow can't compute that fascist don't care about laws ... they just do things, and dare you to stop them, and that applies to anything.

[–] ikidd@lemmy.world 2 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Their reasoning about getting around the law is that if it's commercially available, it isn't government surveillance. And I can't really argue with that. It's immoral but it's not illegal.

[–] sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago)

Well, we could pass a law, or even ammendment, that defines a kind of bill of rights for digital data privacy.

But that would require a functioning, non corrupt government.

Which would have required countermanding Citizens United with something similar, a big law or ammendment.

But nope, instead we have a corrupt system that cannot be fixed from the inside, that now is just openly, nakedly corrupt and arbitrary.

[–] Catma@lemmy.world 2 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

I mean I am surprised by this. Mostly because they are having to pay for it. Figured they would have their own way to do so and would be the ones selling the data

[–] sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 3 hours ago

Then you have not been paying attention.

Something like the 5th or 6th largest datacenter in the world is the Utah Datacenter.

Its run by the NSA, is over 10 years old.

What does it do?

It stores everything, everything it can get its hands on, via the NSA's wiretaps/datafeeds from every ISP in the US, and a good number outside of it.

Their problem literally was that they had so much data, that they could not quickly, usefully, search through it all.

... Enter the well connected, recently started up contractor Palantir.

They solve that problem.

This shit has all been in the news.

Most people just don't pay attention.

[–] WesternInfidels@feddit.online 52 points 11 hours ago (2 children)

“So you’re saying that the agency will buy Americans’ location data,” Wyden said. “...doing that without a warrant is an outrageous end run around the fourth amendment. It’s particularly dangerous given the use of artificial intelligence to comb through massive amounts of private information.

“This is exhibit A for why Congress needs to pass our bipartisan, bicameral bill, the Government Surveillance Reform act,” Wyden said, referring to legislation he is working to pass to rein in surveillance.

While law enforcement must get a judge-authorized search warrant to obtain location data directly from telecom companies, government agencies have instead been able to buy such information from private data brokers.

I think Wyden is right, it does sound like an end run around the fourth amendment.

If the FBI (and probably other TLAs, domestic and foreign) are willing to do this now, why would a statute addressing the practice stop them?

[–] FenrirIII@lemmy.world 4 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Until it's used in court and found to be unlawful, they'll keep doing it. Even afterwards they will keep doing it.

Yup, they’ll keep doing it and use Parallel Construction to launder any evidence they find.

[–] village604@adultswim.fan 5 points 7 hours ago

It doesn't sound like one, it is one.

[–] Manjushri@piefed.social 28 points 10 hours ago

Now think about how much more personal data, beyond mere location, they will be able to purchase once all the states have these age verification laws implemented.

[–] W3dd1e@lemmy.zip 3 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

Flock is doing this too. They buy data from everyone and put it in a big searchable database, then sell it back to law enforcement.

https://www.flocksafety.com/products/flock-nova

The first half of this YouTube video explains how Flock partners with places like Walmart to collect biometric data, including voice prints. It’s gross.

https://youtu.be/Pp9MwZkHiMQ

[–] demlet@lemmy.world 9 points 9 hours ago

Turns out there's a reason Pokemon Go is free to play.

[–] tal@lemmy.today 3 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago)

I mean, sure. Hell, forget the FBI. I expect that intelligence agencies from unfriendly countries probably do. I mean, I imagine that they don't roll up and say "hey, it's the SVR and we'd like to buy data X, Y, and Z," use some sort of front company. But if the data's out there and someone's selling it, people and institutions to which it has any value are going to buy it.

[–] Encephalotrocity@feddit.online 1 points 12 hours ago (3 children)

Why is this news? If data is easily available why wouldn't they simply pay for it? This wasn't an "admission' more than it was a "statement of the obvious".

If you think this wasn't obvious you seriously need to look into exactly how much of your information is being accumulated and openly traded about you.

[–] endlesseden@pyfedi.deep-rose.org 10 points 9 hours ago

news is about bringing awareness to the masses. so they can make informed decisions and act accordingly.

articles like this are meant to tell the general public "Hey, start yelling at your politicians to fix this, before it's you they are buying information on to target you for something you didn't do!"

[–] atzanteol@sh.itjust.works 9 points 10 hours ago

Because:

While law enforcement must get a judge-authorized search warrant to obtain location data directly from telecom companies, government agencies have instead been able to buy such information from private data brokers.

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 10 hours ago (2 children)

So you believe that, if a government is able to do something, then they should do it?

[–] Grimy@lemmy.world 2 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

It points to a deeper problem if they can. These companies have no qualms selling it to foreign states, fascist groups, etc.

[–] 4am@lemmy.zip 1 points 9 hours ago (2 children)

Not that they should, but that they’re bastards and they will if there’s nothing stopping them.

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 9 hours ago

Right, which is why we're discussing proposed legislation to do just that

[–] Encephalotrocity@feddit.online 3 points 9 hours ago

Exactly. Not just that, but apparently it is okay that every other organization in the world knows everything about you except the FBI. The issue isn't that law enforcement is buying information to get around warrant rules, but that your information is a public commodity in the first place.