US government bought smartphone location data for immigration enforcement

The United States Department of Homeland Security used a government-purchased commercial database containing location data from millions of smartphones to track down illegal immigrants. That reports The Wall Street Journal.

The location data in the database comes from common apps such as games and weather applications. US Customs used the information to locate smartphone activity in unusual places, such as positions in the desert near the Mexican border. That writes The Wall Street Journal on the basis of documents and conversations with people who have knowledge of the case.

The Department of Homeland Security allegedly obtained access to the bulk data legally from a commercial provider. WSJ writes that the acquisition began in 2017, with the purchase of location data from a small company called Venntel Inc, which allegedly has strong ties to Gravy Analytics, a major mobile advertising company.

In 2018, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is said to have paid $190,000 for licenses on Venntel products, and Customs and Border Protection is said to have purchased $1.1 million in licenses that year, including access to location data. Customs confirms that they use data, but claims to view only a limited part of it anonymously. The service points out to WSJ that it does not concern data from mobile phone masts and identity data. The data is said to have helped, among other things, in the discovery of a tunnel near the Mexican border, which was used by drug smugglers.