Warrantless geofence / brokered-location controversy (PenLink / Texas DPS)
Key Questions
What did the Supreme Court rule about law enforcement access to cell phone location data?
The Supreme Court reinforced skepticism toward warrantless geofence searches and upheld FCC fines against AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile for selling customer location data without consent. This decision signals stronger protections requiring warrants for such records in many cases.
What regulatory actions are being taken against data brokers selling location information?
The FTC and states have filed a lawsuit against an unnamed data broker, while also confirming actions against firms like X-Mode, Outlogic, Gravy Analytics, and Venntel. These moves reflect growing pressure on the sale of brokered location data, including contracts like Texas DPS's $5.3M deal with PenLink.
How can smartphone users reduce unwanted location tracking by apps?
Users should set every app’s location permission to “while using” instead of “always” to prevent background tracking that feeds data brokers. This practice limits the steady stream of location data shared with third parties like those involved in recent FTC cases.
SCOTUS Chatrie skepticism reinforced; FBI Director Patel confirms broker location data purchases. NV DPS-Fog, TX $5.3M PenLink, MN/ME bills, Kochava FTC ban. New: SCOTUS upholds FCC fines against AT&T/Verizon/T-Mobile for selling location data without consent. New: FTC-state lawsuit filed against an unnamed data broker (ex-686c28f8), signaling increased regulatory pressure on location data sales. Today: article on Chatrie ruling clarifies that while the Supreme Court closed the front door on government geofence warrants, it left the backdoor open for private data brokers to sell location data to law enforcement—a critical nuance for CrimeRadar's upstream feed ecosystem. The article also provides context on FTC actions against X-Mode, Outlogic, Gravy Analytics, Venntel, confirming the background tracking pipeline that feeds broker data.