NSA Buying Illegally Sourced Data on Americans Without Warrants

‘Government should not be funding and legitimizing a shady industry whose flagrant violations of Americans’ privacy are not just unethical, but illegal’

File photo shows the NSA’s headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland. NSA via Getty Images

The National Security Agency (NSA) is buying Americans’ personal information without obtaining warrants, including data that was illegally obtained, according to newly revealed correspondence from the Department of Defense (DoD).

The letters, exchanged between DoD officials and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), highlight how the Pentagon circumvents Americans’ constitutional protections by purchasing their private information on the open market.

Mr. Wyden, who released the letters on Jan. 25, said that the DoD and NSA were propping up an industry that continuously engaged in illegal abuses of American citizens’ privacy.

“Until recently, the data broker industry and the intelligence community’s purchase of data from these shady companies has existed in a legal gray area, which was in large part due to the secrecy surrounding the practice,” Mr. Wyden wrote in an open letter to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines.

“The U.S. government should not be funding and legitimizing a shady industry whose flagrant violations of Americans’ privacy are not just unethical, but illegal.”

Amassing Personal Data

The letters include Mr. Wyden’s correspondence with Gen. Paul Nakasone, who serves as director for the NSA, as well as Ronald Moultrie, the under secretary of defense for intelligence and security.

They reveal that the DoD and its intelligence-related wings have effectively been circumventing Americans’ Fourth Amendment rights by using commercial means to obtain private information without the warrants that would be required to obtain such data from service providers.

Mr. Nakasone at first denied using location data, saying the NSA “does not buy and use location data collected from phones known to be used in the United States,” including commercially available information (CAI).

Mr. Moultrie, however, acknowledged that “DoD components … buy CAI, which includes location data from phones located in the United States, to conduct lawful cybersecurity missions.” He also argued that the Fourth Amendment does not protect Americans from the DoD purchasing their personal information if it is obtained in the form of CAI.

That statement is built on the DoD’s interpretation of Carpenter v. United States, a 2018 Supreme Court case that found that the government could not obtain Americans’ cell phone location data and other information from service providers without a warrant.

The DoD argues, however, that because it is obtaining that same information from a commercially available source instead of a service provider, it does not need a warrant.

“I am not aware of any requirement in U.S. law or judicial opinion … that DoD obtain a court order in order to acquire, access, or use information, such as CAI, that is equally available for purchase to foreign adversaries, U.S. companies, and private persons as it is to the U.S. Government,” Mr. Moultrie said.

Mr. Moultrie went further, saying that the process was not only legal, but mandated and that the DoD was “required by law” to leverage commercially available data including that obtained from social media, consumer agencies, and commercially available data stores.

‘Americans Must Consent to Data Being Sold’

The records purchased from data brokers by the DoD include IP addresses, metadata, and geolocation data, among other things, which can reveal what websites Americans visit, what apps they use, and even their personal medical histories.

Importantly, a Jan. 9 FTC finding ruled that data brokers will now be prohibited from sharing or selling any sensitive location data after determining that many apps collecting these types of data were obtained illegally, with the individual using the app never being informed or consenting to have their personal information sold to the government.

“Geolocation data can reveal not just where a person lives and whom they spend time with but also, for example, which medical treatments they seek and where they worship,” said FTC chair Lina Khan in an associated statement.

The FTC has announced that Americans must be told and agree to their data being sold to “government contractors for national security purposes,” for the practice to be allowed.

This means that U.S. defense and intelligence agencies are purchasing illegally sourced personal data about American citizens and storing that information to use in intelligence operations, including cyber operations on U.S. soil.

Mr. Wyden said that using Americans’ personal data without their knowledge and consent was unlawful and called on the DoD and NSA to take immediate action to remedy the situation.

This includes conducting an inventory of the personal data purchased by the agency, determining whether each data source identified in that inventory meets the standards for legal personal data sales outlined by the FTC, and promptly purging the data that does not.

The Epoch Times has requested comment from the DoD and NSA.