The FBI has resumed purchasing Americans' location data without warrants, FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed during a Senate hearing. This comes three years after the agency previously claimed it had stopped the practice. Patel defended the purchases as constitutional and said the data has produced valuable intelligence, refusing to commit to ending the practice.

Sen. Ron Wyden sharply criticized the FBI's actions, calling warrantless location data purchases an 'outrageous end-run around the 4th Amendment.' Wyden is pushing bipartisan legislation that would prohibit federal agencies from buying Americans' location data without a warrant or FISA order. The debate highlights ongoing tensions between law enforcement surveillance needs and privacy protections.

Sen. Tom Cotton defended the FBI's data purchases, comparing them to law enforcement searching through trash left on curbs. The controversy comes as Congress debates reauthorizing FISA Section 702 before its April 2026 expiration. Privacy advocates warn that expanding government surveillance powers without proper oversight creates dangerous precedents for Americans' constitutional rights.