Politico reports:

The trillion-dollar industry that amasses and shares troves of Americans’ information is confronting a new ethical quandary — the Trump administration’s interest in wielding this data to potentially further its sweeping immigration agenda.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement published a request for information in January seeking input on how “commercial Big Data and Ad Tech providers can directly support investigations,” a request that came as the administration was pursuing efforts to expand the United States’ immigration enforcement capabilities. It appears to be the first time ICE has issued a public request on how to use this kind of data, which can include information on people’s purchases, web browsing or social media use.

ICE’s request is raising alarms for people like Brian O’Kelley, who helped create the advertising technology industry decades ago. He fears the government wants to purchase the data to open a new front for President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda, even though ICE has not said publicly what it plans to do with the information.

“It’s very shocking to see it in black and white that the government is trying to use the digital advertising ecosystem to find and target immigrants,” said O’Kelley, who is the CEO of AI-advertising firm Scope3 and helped develop the online advertising exchange that the industry relies on. “It makes me very, very nervous about how people’s day-to-day use of the internet or their interactions with social media turn into being targeted. That’s terrifying.”

The adtech industry’s leading trade groups also expressed concern — partly out of fear that a public backlash could lead to regulations that threaten their business. They’re proposing rules that would allow companies to continue sharing data for business and marketing purposes, but restrict that information from being sold to law enforcement.

“This type of practice is exactly the reason that some policymakers are out promoting overbroad policies that would call for strict data minimization, banning all sale and sharing of certain information, enacting restrictions that are overly broad that prohibit the collection of data,” said David LeDuc, the vice president of public policy for the Network Advertising Initiative.

The White House referred questions to ICE. An ICE spokesperson told POLITICO that the agency respects civil liberties and privacy interests with its use of technology in investigations.

“Under President Trump, ICE is using all lawful tools to remove dangerous criminal illegal aliens from the U.S.,” ICE said in an emailed statement.

No laws prevent companies from selling this kind of information to the federal government, which described commercially available data as an “increasingly valuable” resource in a report published during the Biden administration in 2022. ICE and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, have previously purchased such data for investigations, as has DHS’ Customs and Border Protection.

In its January request, ICE said it intends to select several companies to present a live demonstration of their capabilities and services to show how the agency can use commercially available data in its investigations. The posting said the request was solely for research and information gathering.

The agency has not disclosed how many submissions it received or which companies responded by the Feb. 2 deadline.

“DHS works with many private contractors to fulfill its mission of protecting American citizens. DHS is not going to confirm or deny law enforcement capabilities or methods,” an ICE spokesperson said.

Similarly, FBI Director Kash Patel and Defense Intelligence Agency Director James Adams both told lawmakers in March that their agencies purchase data, with Patel saying that it “led to valuable intelligence.”

But O’Kelley said he is concerned that a lack of safeguards in the Trump administration makes its use of advertising data less accountable than previous administrations. Former DHS officials told the Financial Times in December that DHS had sidelined privacy safeguards; the DHS’ inspector general is also investigating ICE’s use of surveillance technology.

DHS did not respond to a request for comment by deadline.

“When it’s ICE, how do you go after it? Also, people are scared of Trump, and they’re scared of retribution,” O’Kelley said.

Lawmakers have proposed bills limiting federal agencies from buying data from companies — accusing the government of using data purchases to evade Fourth Amendment protections against unlawful searches and seizures.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a co-sponsor of the Government Surveillance Reform Act, which would require agencies such as ICE and the FBI to have a warrant to buy data, warned that data sales give federal agencies significant access to Americans’ personal information. [Continue reading…]