Congressional Oversight & Policy — 2026-03-25
FBI Director Patel Declines to Stop Warrantless Purchase of Americans Location Data; 130 Groups Urge FISA Fix
FBI Director Kash Patel declined at a Senate hearing to commit to stopping the FBI purchase of Americans cell phone location data from commercial data brokers, stating the FBI uses all tools and purchases commercially available information consistent with the Constitution. The NPR investigation, published March 25, documented that FBI, DOD, and ICE maintain contracts for tools relying on cell phone location data sourced from data brokers, bypassing warrant requirements. Some 130 civil society organizations signed a letter urging Congress to close the data broker loophole in the upcoming FISA
Analysis
Patel statement that the FBI uses all tools including commercial data purchases directly contradicts the privacy reforms Congress intended in FISA 702 reauthorization. The 130-organization letter to close the data broker loophole gains urgency with 26 days to the Section 702 sunset, but theSAVE Act poison pill and conservative revolt make legislative action before April 20 increasingly unlikely.
Patel statement that the FBI uses all tools including commercial data purchases directly contradicts the privacy reforms Congress intended in FISA 702 reauthorization. The 130-organization letter to close the data broker loophole gains urgency with 26 days to the Section 702 sunset, but the