Brokers Selling Phone Data to Feds

Who needs subpoenas and warrants when you can just buy phone records from private data brokers?

Turns out, that’s not as rhetorical of a question as it sounds. These brokers, many of whom market aggressively across the Internet, have broken into customer accounts online, tricked phone companies into revealing information and sometimes acknowledged that their practices violate laws, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

Legal experts and privacy advocates said police reliance on private vendors who commit such acts raises civil liberties questions.

Those government agencies who are using the ill-gotten data are using the “everyone else is doing it” argument, which may actually not stand up to any sort of Constitutional scrutiny.

"There's a good chance there are some laws being broken, but it's not really clear precisely which laws," said Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky., head of the Energy and Commerce investigations subcommittee that plans to begin hearings today.

You can read more about this story at Brokers selling phone data to feds.

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