ATF cancels phone surveillance contract over privacy concerns
The US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has canceled its contract for Webloc, a commercial location surveillance tool used to track mobile devices, following legal concerns about its use in criminal investigations.
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- ATF canceled its Webloc contract after lawmakers raised legal and privacy concerns about using commercial phone location data in criminal investigations.
- Webloc uses ad tech data from apps and advertising networks to track mobile devices, including past movements tied to device IDs and location coordinates.
- Critics say these tools can help law enforcement avoid warrant requirements for historical location data, raising serious Fourth Amendment concerns.
- ATF said Webloc did not meet its needs and stated it is not currently using any other ad-tech-sourced services.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
The US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has canceled its contract for Webloc, a commercial location surveillance tool used to track mobile devices, following legal concerns about its use in criminal investigations.
The agency, responsible for preventing violent crimes involving firearms and explosives, canceled the contract after Rep. Michael Cloud, a Republican from Texas, and Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, expressed concerns about the agency's use of commercially acquired location data, according to AP.
Webloc relies on data from consumer apps and advertising networks, commonly known as "ad tech" data, using a constantly updated database containing location coordinates and device IDs from hundreds of millions of mobile devices worldwide.
This can allow investigators to track a person's movements up to three years into the past – for example, from attending a protest back to their home.
In law enforcement, the use of ad tech has been controversial, as it enables investigators to identify mobile devices without first obtaining a warrant. Critics argue this could potentially circumvent the Supreme Court's 2018 ruling, which requires law enforcement to obtain a warrant before ordering cell phone companies to hand over historical location data.
In a statement, ATF said it concluded that the tool does not meet its needs.
”ATF continually evaluates tools and techniques to enhance our investigations and ultimately reduce violent crime in American communities,” a spokesperson said. “We did conduct a pilot with Webloc to determine if it could improve our investigative capabilities. After completing our review, we determined the tool does not meet our needs and canceled the contract. ATF is not currently using any other ad-tech-sourced services.”
In the US, Webloc's customers include US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the US military, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security, and multiple police departments and intelligence units.
Sen. Ron Wyden welcomed the decision as “a victory for Americans’ constitutional rights,” but called for legislation to prevent the misuse of commercially acquired location data.
“For years, I have warned that the government’s purchase of Americans’ location data from shady data brokers is an unacceptable end-run around the Fourth Amendment,” Wyden said in a statement. “After Rep. Cloud and my staff informed the ATF about the legal and privacy quagmire surrounding adtech data, the agency did the right thing.”
During a May congressional hearing, ATF Director Robert Cekada acknowledged that the agency had been purchasing Americans' geolocation data through a contract for "an ad-tech type thing" that provided location data "based on the ads that go through."
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