ICE Seeks ‘Ad Tech and Big Data’ for Investigations
▼ Summary
– ICE is surveying commercial “Big Data and Ad Tech” products to support its investigative activities, as per a new request for information in the Federal Register.
– The request highlights the government’s growing interest in repurposing tools developed for digital advertising for law enforcement and surveillance.
– ICE has a history of using big data tools, including a customized Palantir Gotham system called FALCON for managing and analyzing investigative information.
– The agency has previously purchased mobile location data from vendors like Penlink’s Webloc and Venntel, a data broker subsidiary of Gravy Analytics.
– The FTC has taken action against such data practices, barring Venntel and Gravy Analytics from selling sensitive location data outside limited national security or law enforcement circumstances.
A recent notice from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement reveals the agency is actively exploring commercial big data and advertising technology tools to bolster its investigative work. The request, published in the official Federal Register, seeks information on products that can manage and analyze the growing volumes of administrative and criminal documentation the agency handles. This move highlights the government’s increasing interest in repurposing digital tools originally built for the advertising industry for law enforcement and surveillance objectives.
The posting states ICE is surveying the market for “existing and emerging” capabilities comparable to major investigative data and legal analytics providers. Specifically, the agency wants to understand the current state of ad tech and location data services available to federal entities, while considering regulatory and privacy constraints. The broad description does not detail which specific regulations or privacy standards would apply, nor does it name any vendors of interest. This appears to be the first instance where the term “ad tech” has been used in an ICE solicitation within the Federal Register.
This initiative follows ICE’s established pattern of leveraging commercial data. The agency has previously used the term “big data” in a contract justification for Palantir, a company that provides its Gotham investigative platform. ICE uses a customized version called the “Investigative Case Management” system, which includes a tool named FALCON to store, search, analyze, and visualize information from ongoing and past investigations.
Furthermore, ICE has a history of purchasing mobile location data, a type of information often collected and traded within the digital advertising ecosystem. Ad tech data can encompass a wide range of sensitive details, including a person’s device type, app usage, physical location, and browsing history. The agency has acquired products like Penlink’s Webloc tool, which allows users to collect data on mobile phones in a specific area during a set time, filtering devices by how their location was gathered.
In recent years, ICE also purchased licenses from Venntel, a data broker subsidiary of Gravy Analytics that sells consumer location data. A past contract noted the agency’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division used Venntel’s software to identify digital devices. Notably, the Federal Trade Commission alleged in 2024 that Venntel sold sensitive location data without proper consumer consent. The FTC subsequently barred Gravy Analytics and Venntel from selling or using such data, except under limited circumstances involving national security or law enforcement.
(Source: Wired)
