The FBI Is Buying Your Location Data To Find Out Where You Drive

Your car knows a lot about you. It knows where you go, where you live, where you spend your time. It's also happy to sell that data to insurance companies and data brokers, turning your habits into a shiny new income stream for its manufacturer. But now, it turns out those data brokers have customers of their own: The Federal Bureau of Investigation, which has now admitted to purchasing data on Americans. 

Kash Patel, FBI director and branded sneaker enthusiast, admitted before Congress this week that the FBI is actively purchasing information about American citizens. Patel stated that the data has "led to some valuable intelligence," according to Politico, but wasn't specific as to the uses of data the bureau had obtained — nor the scope of the data gathering efforts. While this isn't the first time the FBI has admitted to buying up consumer data for its own ends, it's the first time the bureau has admitted to any current effort to do so.

Usually, the FBI would require a pesky thing called a "warrant" in able to gain such information on American citizens — similar attempts by government agencies to get consumer data directly from telecom operators have been stymied by the courts. By buying up information from data brokers, though, the FBI can now dodge legal questions around relevance, scope, and scale of data-gathering efforts entirely. The only impediment now is cost, and it's certain the FBI is getting a bulk rate. 

Next time you drive to your local state-legal dispensary, remember that the FBI can learn where your car goes. Next time you go to get a checkup at Planned Parenthood, keep in mind that such information may end up living on a server in DC for the foreseeable future. You may think you have nothing to hide, but you also have a right to privacy — a right that Patel and his cronies are now circumventing via the consumer market.