The Secret Service purchased a product granting the agency access to location data that’s been collected from smartphone apps, according to an internal document obtained by Vice.
The product, Locate X, allows law enforcement to obtain information that would typically require a warrant or court order. Multiple agencies of the U.S. government have reportedly made deals with the company that owns Locate X, Babel Street, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Sources told Vice that the product records location data anonymously based on data from ordinary smartphone apps.
