Overview
- An internal DHS Privacy Threshold Analysis obtained by 404 Media shows CBP’s 2019–2021 pilot sourced location data from ad exchanges using mobile Advertising IDs to support targeting, vetting, analysis, and illicit‑network discovery.
- The data originated through real-time bidding in everyday apps and games, enabling tracking of device movements that can reveal sensitive places like home and work.
- More than 70 Democratic lawmakers asked Inspector General Joseph Cuffari to investigate renewed ICE purchases and a PenLink contract that provides access to Webloc; ICE canceled a planned Feb. 10 briefing with Congress.
- A 2023 DHS inspector general report concluded CBP, ICE, and the Secret Service violated federal law by buying and using location data without warrants and cited weak controls, shared passwords, and an instance of employee abuse.
- Regulators have found some brokered location collection unlawful, and the DHS watchdog has opened a new audit into biometric and personally identifiable information practices.