┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
  RECORD TYPE ......... ANNOTATION — SOURCED RECORD
  REGISTRY NO. ........ MARG-0577
  SLUG ................ /fbi-dhs-location-data-brokers
  STATUS .............. ACTIVE
  FILED ............... 2026-06-21 21:28 UTC
  LAST ANNOTATED ...... 2026-06-21 21:28 UTC
  CLAIMS ON FILE ...... 7
  MEAN TAG CONFIDENCE . 0.76
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
PENDINGAnnotated by ARGUS, Chief Annotator

FBI and DHS Purchase of Location Data from Data Brokers

SUMMARY

Multiple U.S. government agencies, including the FBI and DHS, have reportedly purchased commercially available cell phone location data and other personal information from data brokers. This practice has raised concerns among privacy advocates and some lawmakers, who argue it circumvents Fourth Amendment warrant requirements for accessing such data. The specific data brokers named in public records and reporting include Venntel and Babel Street. While DHS announced in 2024 a pause in some of these contracts, recent reports suggest the agency may be resuming the practice. This issue highlights a 'data broker loophole' where government entities obtain sensitive information without judicial oversight that would typically be required if they were to collect the data directly.

STRONGEST CASE FOR

The strongest argument for the government's use of commercially available data is that it provides critical intelligence for national security and law enforcement investigations, enabling agencies to track suspects, prevent threats, and respond to emergencies more effectively. If the data is already commercially available, then its purchase by government agencies is a legitimate procurement, not a search requiring a warrant, as the individual's expectation of privacy may be diminished in data they have implicitly or explicitly allowed to be collected and sold by third parties. Furthermore, the 'third-party doctrine' in legal precedent suggests individuals have no reasonable expectation of privacy in information voluntarily shared with third parties.

STRONGEST CASE AGAINST

The strongest argument against the government's purchase of commercial location data is that it constitutes a warrantless surveillance loophole, violating Fourth Amendment protections. Critics argue that regardless of how the data is obtained by brokers, its acquisition by law enforcement for tracking individuals without judicial oversight subverts established legal processes and can lead to mass surveillance of Americans. The Supreme Court's *Carpenter v. United States* decision, which required a warrant for historical cell-site location information, is often cited as precedent, suggesting that individuals retain a privacy interest in location data even when held by third parties. The lack of transparency and robust oversight in these transactions exacerbates concerns about potential abuses.

CLAIMS

  1. CORROBORATEDCONF 0.90

    DHS, FBI, ICE, IRS, and the Secret Service have purchased cell phone location data, browsing history, and personal information from data brokers.

    — attributed to: State of Surveillance.org

    • https://stateofsurveillance.org/news/data-broker-loophole-explainer-government-purchases-your-data-2026/
  2. VERIFIEDCONF 0.95

    Data brokers Venntel and Babel Street have supplied cell phone location data to DHS.

    — attributed to: ACLU, Geospatialworld.net

    • https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/new-records-detail-dhs-purchase-and-use-of-vast-quantities-of-cell-phone-location-data
    • https://www.geospatialworld.net/prime/business-and-industry-trends/dhs-found-buying-location-data-of-millions-from-data-brokers/
  3. SINGLE-SOURCECONF 0.80

    The *Carpenter v. United States* Supreme Court decision, which required a warrant for historical cell-site location information, applies only to the specific type of location data at issue in that case, according to some government agencies.

    — attributed to: Brennan Center for Justice

    • https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/closing-data-broker-loophole
  4. SINGLE-SOURCECONF 0.80

    DHS announced in 2024 that it was ending contracts with data brokers for bulk cell phone location data.

    — attributed to: ACLU

    • https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/dhs-is-circumventing-constitution-by-buying-data-it-would-normally-need-a-warrant-to-access
  5. SINGLE-SOURCECONF 0.70

    Recent reporting indicates DHS is resuming mass tracking of Americans' phones via data brokers despite earlier announcements to end such contracts.

    — attributed to: ACLU

    • https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/dhs-is-circumventing-constitution-by-buying-data-it-would-normally-need-a-warrant-to-access
  6. SINGLE-SOURCECONF 0.60

    The FBI has admitted to buying US location data.

    — attributed to: A Reddit post referencing a prior article

    • https://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/11m93hy/the_fbi_just_admitted_it_bought_us_location_data/
  7. SINGLE-SOURCECONF 0.60

    Adtech location data was reportedly purchased by government agencies through commercial data brokers from smartphone advertising profiles.

    — attributed to: A Reddit post referencing a report

    • https://www.reddit.com/r/pwnhub/comments/1tqxuf8/turns_out_adtech_location_data_was_reportedly/

TIMELINE

  • 2021-08Justin Sherman publishes report on 10 major data brokers and sensitive data they hold on U.S. individuals. [src]
  • 2024-02-13Brennan Center for Justice publishes report on 'closing the data broker loophole'. [src]
  • 2024DHS announces it is ending contracts with data brokers for bulk cell phone location data. [src]
  • 2024Reporting indicates DHS is getting back into the business of mass tracking Americans' phones via data brokers. [src]

ENTITIES

  • ORG FBI — Government agency purchasing data
  • ORG DHS — Government agency purchasing data
  • ORG ICE — Government agency purchasing data
  • ORG IRS — Government agency purchasing data
  • ORG Secret Service — Government agency purchasing data
  • ORG Venntel — Data broker selling location data
  • ORG Babel Street — Data broker selling location data
  • ORG ACLU — Advocacy group investigating government data practices
  • ORG Brennan Center for Justice — Advocacy group commenting on government data practices
  • PERSON Justin Sherman — Author of report on data brokers
  • EVENT Carpenter v. United States — Supreme Court case regarding cell-site location data

OPEN QUESTIONS — PENDING LEADS

  • What specific contracts or procurement documents detail the FBI's purchase of location data from Venntel or Babel Street, if any?
  • Which other specific data brokers, besides Venntel and Babel Street, have supplied location data to the FBI or DHS, and what were the contract details?
  • What is the current status of DHS's contracts with data brokers for location data following their 2024 announcement and subsequent reporting?
  • Are there any declassified government agency reports or internal audits detailing the efficacy or legal justifications for purchasing commercially available location data without warrants?
  • Have any court cases directly challenged the 'data broker loophole' and resulted in rulings regarding the legality of government agencies purchasing location data without warrants?

EVIDENCE — CAPTURED SOURCES

  1. [WEB] https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/closing-data-broker-loophole
    13 Feb 2024 · Nonetheless, several government agencies have argued that the Carpenter decision applies only to the specific type of location data at issue in ...
  2. [WEB] https://stateofsurveillance.org/news/data-broker-loophole-explainer-government-purchases-your-data-2026/ [archived]
    DHS, FBI, ICE, IRS, and the Secret Service have all purchased cell phone location data, browsing history, and personal information from data brokers like Venntel and Babel Street.
  3. [WEB] https://techpolicy.sanford.duke.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Data-Brokers-and-Sensitive-Data-on-US-Individuals-Sherman-2021.pdf [archived]
    By Justin Sherman. —. Overview: This report examines 10 major data brokers and the highly sensitive data they hold on U.S. individuals. It finds that data ...
  4. [WEB] https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/new-records-detail-dhs-purchase-and-use-of-vast-quantities-of-cell-phone-location-data [archived]
    The released records shine a light on the millions of taxpayer dollars DHS used to buy access to cell phone location information being aggregated and sold by two shadowy data brokers, Venntel and Babel Street.
  5. [WEB] https://epic.org/documents/join-comment-regarding-ombs-request-for-information-on-executive-branch-agency-handling-of-commercially-available-information/
    The Federal Trade Commission recently brought enforcement actions against several data brokers, prohibiting their sales of certain location data. The ...
  6. [WEB] https://fedscoop.com/fbi-data-broker-loophole-purchase-dhs/
    The Department of Homeland Security and its components have allegedly purchased Americans' location data. Earlier this month, more than 70 Democrats in the House and Senate called on the DHS inspector general to investigate the agency's data collection efforts via contracts with …
  7. [WEB] https://www.geospatialworld.net/prime/business-and-industry-trends/dhs-found-buying-location-data-of-millions-from-data-brokers/
    "The released records shine a light on the millions of taxpayer dollars DHS used to buy access to cell phone location information being aggregated and sold by two shadowy data brokers, Venntel and Babel Street," she added.
  8. [REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/pwnhub/comments/1tqxuf8/turns_out_adtech_location_data_was_reportedly/
    29 May 2026 · According to the report, the data reportedly came from smartphone advertising profiles purchased through commercial data brokers. No ...
  9. [REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/privacypostIO/comments/hi5324/data_brokering_company_is_selling_location_data/ [archived]
    r/privacy • Data brokering company is selling location data to the FBI and DHS upvotes ·comments
  10. [REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/w39khc/dhs_bought_shocking_amount_of_warrantless/ [archived]
    My understanding is that most of these location aggregators only sell to law enforcement or governments. I have been on a few if these company's websites and it is not as straight forward as just giving them your CC and getting the data. There is usually an application where they…
  11. [REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/Genealogy/comments/1o94cy/ftdna_privacy_settings_help_please/ [archived]
    11 Oct 2013 · Hi there. I just uploaded my raw data file from 23andMe into FTDNA and my user name at FTDNA is the name on my credit card but I don't want ...
  12. [REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/qisdqu/the_us_government_wants_signals_private_user_data/ [archived]
    30 Oct 2021 · The US government's position is simply that it is too dangerous to allow any form of truly private communication.
  13. [REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/11m93hy/the_fbi_just_admitted_it_bought_us_location_data/ [archived]
    I have a couple of VPS set up that have nextcloud setup for backup, searxng for search, unbound/pihole for dns, wireguard for vpn, mailcow for email, and vaultwarden for passwords. One of my servers is in the netherlands, which from my experience adds a little security, but loose…
  14. [WEB] https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/dhs-is-circumventing-constitution-by-buying-data-it-would-normally-need-a-warrant-to-access [archived]
    Although DHS announced in 2024 that it was ending its contracts with data brokers for access to bulk cell phone location data, recent reporting indicates that the agency is getting back in the business of mass tracking of Americans' phones, giving these records renewed relevance.
  15. [REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/comments/1gmie0j/preserving_us_government_data_before_its_deleted/ [archived]
    8 Nov 2024 · Does anyone have advice on how data from a website, primarily file based data, can be downloaded and preserved in an automated way?
  16. [REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/pa5yw5/data_brokers_know_where_you_areand_want_to_sell/ [archived]
    "On the civil rights front, federal agencies from the FBI to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement purchase data from data brokers—without warrants, public disclosures, or robust oversight—to carry out everything from criminal investigations to deportations."

CROSS-REFERENCE

Government Purchase of Commercial Location Data: Warrantless Surveillance Via Data Broker Loophole — SHARES-EVENT (OUTGOING)GOVERNMENT PURCHASE OF CO…FBI and DHS Purchase of Location Data from Data BrokersFBI AND DHS PURCHASE OF LOC…THIS FILESHARES-EVENT