FBI Director Kash Patel testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday that the bureau routinely purchases geolocation data, browser histories, and financial records from commercial data brokers without obtaining a warrant — a practice he defended as legal under current law.
The admission came in response to questioning from Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), who has long warned that the data broker industry has created a loophole in Fourth Amendment protections. 'If the government can buy data without a warrant, the warrant requirement becomes meaningless,' Wyden said.
Patel acknowledged that the FBI has purchased such data in thousands of investigations since 2021, including cases involving drug trafficking, counterintelligence, and even some non-criminal matters. He argued that because the data is commercially available to any buyer, no warrant is required.
Bipartisan concern over surveillance loophole
Several Republicans joined Democrats in expressing concern. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) called the practice 'a constitutional end-run' and said he would introduce legislation to close the data-broker loophole.
The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against the FBI under the Freedom of Information Act seeking detailed records of all data purchases since 2018. 'This is mass surveillance without oversight, without suspicion, and without accountability,' said ACLU attorney Nathan Wessler.
If the government can buy data without a warrant, the warrant requirement becomes meaningless. Congress must act immediately to close this loophole.
Patel said the FBI has internal policies requiring agents to purchase data only when a warrant would be obtainable, but he conceded there is no judicial oversight of that determination. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has been asked to prepare a report on the scale of data purchases across all intelligence agencies.
