Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Palestinian Prisoners' Information Office: Four of his ribs were broken
Palestinian Prisoners' Information Office: Marwan al-Barghouti lost consciousness after a brutal assault by Israeli occupation soldiers
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Israeli violations in the Gaza Strip have not stopped, and just a short while ago, fishermen came under fire from boats
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Israeli occupation forces carry out a large explosion in the eastern neighborhood of the town of Mays al-Jabal in southern Lebanon.
Israeli media: Israeli political leadership decides to open Rafah crossing “as planned” and transfer aid to Gaza Strip.
Palestinian media: Three Palestinians were killed after being targeted by Israeli drone fire in the al-Shujaiya neighborhood east of Gaza City
Nicolas Maduro: The Palestinian cause is the most sacred cause for humanity, and we propose sending teams of builders, farmers, and doctors to Gaza to help the people
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Lebanon: IOF infiltrate Khallet Wardeh towards the municipality in the town of Aita al-Shaab, south of Lebanon.
Leaders of the United States, Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey sign a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
Trump arrives in Sharm el-Sheikh

ACLU: DHS spent millions on phone location data

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 18 Jul 2022 23:11
  • 1 Shares
2 Min Read

The US Department of Homeland Security spent millions of dollars on mobile phone location data to follow the actions of Americans and foreigners at US borders.

  • x
  • ACLU revealed in a report that DHS spent millions of dollars on mobile phone location data
    ACLU revealed in a report that DHS spent millions of dollars on mobile phone location data

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) revealed in a report, on Monday, that the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had spent millions of dollars on mobile phone location data to track the activities of Americans and foreigners at US borders.

"The released records shine a light on the millions of taxpayer dollars DHS used to buy access to cell phone location information being aggregated and sold by two shadowy data brokers, Venntel and Babel Street," the report read.

Per the documents obtained by the ACLU through the Freedom of Information Act, the two companies and the government were attempting to "rationalize this unfettered sale." The DHS-purchased data enabled law enforcement to follow specific people or everyone in a specified region, identify their devices' positions at "places of interest," as well as learn about regular visitors, find patterns, and gather other crucial information. The ACLU claimed that officials were obtaining information on national security inadvertently.

There is no end run around the Fourth Amendment.

Congress needs to pass the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act, which would require the government to secure a court order before buying our data from brokers. https://t.co/mq3RotZIEU

— ACLU (@ACLU) July 18, 2022

Related News

Judge halts Trump's fast-track deportation expansion for parolees

DHS investigates Secret Service after Trump's attempted assassination

"The government should not be allowed to purchase its way around bedrock constitutional protections against unreasonable searches of our private information," the report added.

The ACLU observed that both corporations and law enforcement organizations were attempting to defend their operations by claiming in papers that phone users freely gave their location data.

"Of course, that consent is a fiction: Many cell phone users don’t realize how many apps on their phones are collecting GPS information, and certainly don’t expect that data to be sold to the government in bulk," the report read. 

Over 6,000 pages of information with roughly 336,000 location points gleaned from people's cell phones have been examined by the ACLU. According to the ACLU, a DHS internal memo from 2018 suggested utilizing the location data to determine trends in illegal immigration, which the group claims would "indiscriminately sweep in information about people going about their daily lives in border communities." 

The ACLU asked the US Congress to demand an immediate end to this DHS behavior.

Read more: Israeli Pegasus spyware hacks relative of Rwandan dissident

  • DHS
  • US Department of Homeland Security
  • mobile data
  • data tracking
  • ACLU
  • Location data

Most Read

Iran strikes secret Israeli-US bunker under Tel Aviv high-rise

Tel Aviv high-rise struck by Iran hid Site 81, secret US-Israeli base

  • Politics
  • 14 Oct 2025
Palestinian journalist Saleh al-Jaafarawi in an undated image in Gaza, occupied Palestine (Social media)

Gaza Palestinian journalist Saleh al-Jafarawi killed by collaborators

  • Politics
  • 12 Oct 2025
drop site

New report details extensive Israeli arson in Gaza after ceasefire

  • Politics
  • 13 Oct 2025
Illustration of fists breaking shackles, representing the liberation of Palestinian detainees from Israeli prisons. (Illustrated by: AL Mayadeen English/Batoul Chamas)

4 prominent Palestinian detainees to be freed: Who are they?

  • Palestine
  • 13 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
UK extends jet patrols over Poland as NATO builds ‘drone wall’
Politics

UK extends jet patrols over Poland as NATO builds ‘drone wall’

Thousands trapped in El Fasher siege on ‘edge of survival': Report
Politics

Thousands trapped in El-Fasher siege on ‘edge of survival': Report

Trump links aid to Milei’s midterm success, blackmailing Argentinians.
US & Canada

Trump 'extorts' Argentinians, links aid to Milei’s midterm success

Six foreigners barred as US polices speech on Charlie Kirk
Politics

6 foreigners' visas revoked as US polices speech on Charlie Kirk

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS