Nevada quietly signed an agreement earlier this year with a company that collects location data from cellphones, allowing police to track a device virtually in real time — all without a warrant.
But if you’re concerned about the sources used by data brokers in general, collection and use of location data by corporations is pretty much unregulated, so it’s fair to assume that brokers use every trick they can, including buying from anyone who sells the information. Which the carriers are widely believed to do, but are kinda hush hush about it.
The EFF reporting about Fog Data Science’s sources is unsure of the ultimate source of the data.
But if you’re concerned about the sources used by data brokers in general, collection and use of location data by corporations is pretty much unregulated, so it’s fair to assume that brokers use every trick they can, including buying from anyone who sells the information. Which the carriers are widely believed to do, but are kinda hush hush about it.