Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is reportedly looking to expand its surveillance powers with a new tool that could monitor the locations of hundreds of millions of smartphones.
The technology, developed by surveillance company PenLink, would allow ICE to tap into massive amounts of location data and even cross-reference social media activity, according to documents obtained by The Independent.
Privacy experts say the system could give ICE unprecedented access to people’s personal movements, raising major concerns about whether this type of bulk monitoring violates the Constitution. The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches, but buying up location data without warrants is a legal gray area.
The draft proposal shows ICE considering tools that can not only track where people go but also build networks linking them to others, analyze social media, and even attempt face detection. Critics warn this could lead to extreme overreach, where everyday people are tracked with no oversight.
The question now is whether lawmakers or the courts will step in before ICE expands its reach into mass digital surveillance.
