The Department of Homeland Security is expected to stop buying access to data showing the movement of phones — a controversial practice that has allowed it to warrantlessly track hundreds of millions of people for years.
Since 2018, agencies within the department — including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Secret Service — have been buying access to commercially available data that revealed the movement patterns of devices, many inside the United States. Commercially available phone data can be bought and searched without judicial oversight.
Three people familiar with the matter said the Department of Homeland Security isn’t expected to buy access to more of this data, nor will the agency make any additional funding available to buy access to this data. The agency “paused” this practice after a 2023 DHS watchdog report pending a recommendation that they draw up better privacy controls and policies. However, the department instead appears to be winding down the use of the data.