Big Data, Small Privacy: FBI Buys Location, ICE Mines Credit Headers

FBI Director Confirms Agency Buys Location Data from Brokers Without Warrant

FBI Director Kash Patel testified under oath on March 18, 2026, that the bureau purchases commercially available location data on Americans, reversing his predecessor’s 2023 denial. Patel declined Senator Ron Wyden’s request to commit to stopping the practice, arguing the data yields valuable intelligence. The Supreme Court’s 2018 Carpenter ruling requires a warrant for location data from carriers but left a loophole for data bought from private brokers, which the FBI now exploits. Wyden and Senator Mike Lee have introduced the Government Surveillance Reform Act to close that loophole, while a companion bill is pending in the House. No legislation had passed as of the testimony.

FBI Director Confirms Bureau Buys Location Data on Americans, March 2026 | The Classified Record →

Unverified Reports Claim Truck Drivers Ramming Flock Safety ALPR Cameras in Ohio

Unconfirmed accounts from Ohio allege that truck drivers intentionally rammed poles supporting Flock Safety’s automated license plate reader cameras and that individuals used bats to smash the devices. No independent police reports or official statements have verified the claims, and the specific town, number of cameras damaged, and any arrests remain unknown. Flock Safety cameras capture still images of vehicles and license plates, routing data to law enforcement for investigative use without issuing tickets. The company maintains the technology aids crime-solving and public safety.

Truck Drivers Allegedly Ramming Flock Safety Cameras To Destroy Them - Gadget Review →

ICE Paying Thomson Reuters $125 Million for Credit Header Data to Track Immigrants and Voters

Immigration and Customs Enforcement is buying credit header data—names, addresses, and contact info from credit reports—through Thomson Reuters’ CLEAR investigative tool, according to government procurement records and internal documents obtained by 404 Media. The $125 million contract allows ICE to search, analyze, and pair this data with other intelligence without a warrant, using it for immigration enforcement and what the administration calls ‘voter fraud’ investigations. Credit bureaus Equifax and Experian supply the data to Thomson Reuters, which then sells access to government clients. An internal ICE user guide lists CLEAR as a source for address confidence scores in Palantir’s ELITE raid-planning app. Senator Ron Wyden called the practice ‘an outrageous violation of our privacy,’ noting that no one signing up for a credit card expects their address to be sold to ICE. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had proposed closing this loophole, but the Trump administration gutted the agency. Thomson Reuters initially denied the connection to deportation operations, then stated it prohibits using CLEAR to target noncriminal immigrants solely based on status.

You Opened a Credit Card. ICE Now Knows Where You Live →

OPM Plans to Collect Medical Records of 8 Million Federal Workers, Citing Fraud Prevention

The Office of Personnel Management is proceeding with a plan to routinely collect identifiable health information on more than 8 million federal employees, retirees, and their families, with a notice effective July 24. In response to privacy pushback, OPM says it will pseudonymize records—removing names, addresses, and Social Security numbers—while retaining birth years and using scrambled member IDs. However, the notice explicitly reserves the right to reidentify data, and 65 insurers must submit detailed records including diagnoses, prescriptions, and payment data. OPM argues the $80 billion FEHB and PSHB programs need this analysis to root out fraud. Critics, including Senator Mark Warner and health privacy lawyers, warn that pseudonymization is insufficient given the richness of the data and that the administration has not earned trust. OPM’s General Counsel cited general healthcare fraud as justification, but could not provide specific instances of enrollee fraud. Federal unions and retirees remain uneasy amid ongoing mass firings and layoffs.

Trump’s personnel agency says it will remove some identifying info as it sweeps up medical records →

Flock Safety Builds ‘Nova’ Tool to Link License Plates to People Using Data Brokers and Breaches

Internal documents and Slack chats obtained by 404 Media reveal that Flock Safety, which operates automatic license plate readers in over 5,000 U.S. communities, is developing a product called Nova. Nova will combine ALPR data with people lookup tools, data broker information, and hacked data to let police ‘jump from LPR to person’ without a warrant. It links a vehicle’s owner to other individuals through marriage, gang affiliation, or other connections. Flock employees internally questioned the ethics of using data from breaches, and one Slack message noted Nova supports 20 toggleable data sources. Flock confirmed the tool is already in early access with some law enforcement agencies.

License Plate Reader Company Flock Is Building a Massive People Lookup Tool, Leak Shows →