The Secret Service has reportedly paid for a product called Locate X, which the agency uses to access location data from apps on people's phones. As a result, according to a report by Motherboard on Monday, the agency was able to bypass measures such as obtaining an arrest warrant or a court order to obtain this type of information.
A March protocol report said several government agencies signed contracts with the inventor of Locate X, Babel Street, after the product was launched. Locate X anonymously tracks device locations based on data captured by apps on these phones. US Customs and Border Protection reportedly bought Locate X, and according to Motherboard, a document was received confirming a claim by an employee on Babel Street that the Secret Service also used the technology.
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The Secret Service and Babel Street did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to motherboard, the Secret Service's contract for Locate X ran from September 28, 2017 to September 27, 2018.
Multiple apps collect location data to keep things running smoothly. However, many sell the information they collect to data brokers or other companies who then use that information in their own products. The government is sometimes involved in these sales too. For example, the Trump administration bought phone location data from a company called Venntel and is using it for immigration and border protection, according to a February report in the Wall Street Journal. The Internal Revenue Service has also reportedly bought a database from Venntel that records millions of American cell phone locations.
While law enforcement agencies typically need an arrest warrant or court order to obtain location data from a company, they can bypass that step by purchasing the data instead, Motherboard notes.
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