Federal agencies including ICE, the FBI, and the Department of Defense are purchasing bulk cell phone location data from commercial data brokers without warrants, bypassing Fourth Amendment protections. This practice allows government surveillance of Americans' movements and behaviors through data collected from apps and web browsers. The loophole emerged after a 2015 law change that banned bulk data collection but left open the purchase option.

Privacy advocates warn this creates unprecedented warrantless mass surveillance, with AI tools making such data even more powerful. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has warned that purchased records can be used by AI to assemble comprehensive pictures of individuals' lives at massive scale. Last week, 130 civil society organizations urged Congress to close this loophole during the upcoming FISA 702 reauthorization debate.

FISA 702 reauthorization represents the best chance this year to end bulk data collection through data brokers, according to privacy advocates. The bill faces opposition from both parties, with the White House and House Speaker Mike Johnson pushing for a clean reauthorization. Courts have not weighed in on this practice, leaving it in a legal gray area. Without reform, agencies like ICE continue expanding surveillance capabilities, recently requesting information about commercial Big Data and Ad Tech tools for investigations.