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
Da Silva: What is happening in Gaza is not a war, it is a genocide
Da Silva: Even the Jewish people do not want this war; it is revenge by a government against the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state
Brazilian President Lula da Silva: What we are seeing is not a war between two armies. [What we have is a] completely professional army that is killing women and children in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas: We affirm our readiness to immediately begin a round of indirect negotiations to reach an agreement on the points of contention
Hamas: We welcome the continued Qatari and Egyptian efforts to end the war waged by the Zionist occupation against our people
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Israeli occupation forces blew up Noura Al-Kaabi Hospital, designated for kidney dialysis patients, in the northern Gaza Strip
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Israeli drone targets a car on the Ayta al-Shaab-Debel road in southern Lebanon
Yemeni Armed Forces Spokesperson Yahya Saree: The remaining airlines that have not yet complied with the ban are urged to take this into serious consideration to ensure the safety of their aircraft and passengers
Yemeni Armed Forces Spokesperson Yahya Saree: The YAF, after successfully imposing a partial ban on air traffic at Lydd Airport, are now working to impose a full ban on air traffic at the aforementioned airport in the coming period
Yemeni Armed Forces Spokesperson Yahya Saree: YAF's UAV Unit carried out three military operations targeting three vital Israeli sites in the occupied Palestinian areas of Yafa, Isdud, and Umm al-Rashrash, using three drones

ACLU: DHS spent millions on phone location data

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 19 Jul 2022 00:11
  • 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

DHS investigates Secret Service after Trump's attempted assassination

DHS, FBI concerned about 'retaliatory violence' after Trump attack

"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

President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrive to a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington (AP)

Rift widens: Trump, Netanyahu clash in heated phone call over Iran

  • Politics
  • 26 May 2025
US judges quietly consider private security amid Trump tensions

US judges quietly consider private security amid Trump pressures

  • US & Canada
  • 25 May 2025
An Israeli army vehicle moves in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern occupied Palestine, Thursday, May 29, 2025 (AP)

Hamas rejects Witkoff ceasefire plan, says alters terms

  • Politics
  • 29 May 2025
Spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, announces a new operation against Ben Gurion Airport on May 29, 2025 (Yemeni Military Media)

Yemen announces successful hypersonic missile strike on Ben Gurion

  • Politics
  • 30 May 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
MIT bans class president who gave pro-Palestine speech
US & Canada

MIT bans class president over pro-Palestine speech

Arab ministers condemn Israel 'ban' on planned West Bank visit
Politics

Arab ministers condemn Israeli ban on planned West Bank visit

Major General Hu Gangfeng, Vice President, National Defense University, People's Liberation Army, China, leaves after a panel discussion during the 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore, Saturday, May 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Politics

China blasts Hegseth, calls US top 'troublemaker' in Asia-Pacific

US activists demand shutdown of Musk's 'dirty' supercomputer: Reports
Technology

US activists demand shutdown of Musk's 'dirty' supercomputer: NBC News

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