FBI Director Kash Patel admitted under oath that FBI buys Americans' location data from brokers without a warrant

On March 18, 2026, FBI Director Kash Patel testified under oath at a Senate Intelligence Committee worldwide threats hearing in Washington, D.C. that the FBI purchases Americans' location data from commercial data brokers instead of obtaining a warrant. Responding to questioning from Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who noted that Patel's predecessor, then-FBI Director Christopher Wray, testified in 2023 that the bureau had stopped buying such data, Patel said: "We do purchase commercially available information that's consistent with the constitution and the laws under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, and it has led to some valuable intelligence for us."

Law enforcement agencies are ordinarily required to obtain a judge-authorized search warrant before compelling telecommunications companies to disclose a person's location data, a Fourth Amendment safeguard against unreasonable searches. By purchasing the same category of data from commercial brokers, who aggregate it from smartphone apps and advertising networks, the FBI used a private-sector workaround to acquire information it would otherwise need judicial authorization to obtain -- the same broker workaround the reporting notes other federal agencies have also relied on to buy such information.

Wyden, a longtime critic of warrantless government data purchases, told Patel the practice was "an outrageous end run around the fourth amendment" and cited it as grounds for passing the bipartisan, bicameral Government Surveillance Reform Act he is working to pass through Congress. Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), a House sponsor of companion legislation, separately called the practice on social media "a clear violation of the fourth amendment" that his bill would address by closing the data-broker loophole.