US Immigration and Customs Enforcement this week requested info from promoting know-how firms about “business Huge Knowledge and Advert Tech” merchandise that might “straight help investigations actions,” based on a January 23 submitting on SAM.gov, the federal authorities’s contract alternative portal. The request arrived as investigative reporting uncovered how knowledge brokers promote location coordinates monitoring US army and intelligence personnel to business patrons.
The request for info, designated FY26_RFI-Big Data & Ad Tech, establishes that ICE seeks platforms and knowledge providers from suppliers working within the business promoting ecosystem. The Division of Homeland Safety company “is gathering info to raised perceive how the {industry}’s business Huge Knowledge and Advert Tech suppliers can straight help investigations actions.”
ICE operates below the Info Expertise Division reporting to Homeland Safety Investigations, the company’s investigative arm answerable for prison investigations starting from human trafficking to transnational crime. The RFI signifies ICE “is assessing {the marketplace} for current and rising business off-the-shelf (COTS) options akin to massive suppliers of investigative knowledge and authorized/threat analytics.”
The timing coincides with WIRED’s November 19, 2024 investigation revealing that anybody might buy greater than 3 billion cellphone coordinates monitoring detailed actions of US army and intelligence staff in Germany. The information dealer dataset uncovered a tool commuting to Lucius D. Clay Kaserne, the US Military’s European headquarters and key intelligence hub, demonstrating how business location knowledge reaches delicate army installations. The Pentagon remained powerless to forestall such purchases regardless of safety implications.
Authorities curiosity in promoting infrastructure
The RFI specifies that ICE desires to grasp “the present state of Advert Tech compliant and placement knowledge providers obtainable to federal investigative and operational entities, contemplating regulatory constraints and privateness expectations.” This language acknowledges pressure between business surveillance capabilities and privateness frameworks whereas indicating federal curiosity in accessing instruments developed for focused promoting.
Corporations should reply by way of a Microsoft Kind submission portal and supply written documentation restricted to 10 pages. Based on the submitting, “it’s the Authorities’s intent to pick a number of respondents to this RFI to current a reside demonstration of their operational capabilities, platforms and knowledge providers.” The response deadline falls on February 2, 2026 at 10:00 AM Japanese Commonplace Time.
ICE emphasised that the submitting represents market analysis moderately than an instantaneous procurement. The doc states this “is just not a solicitation announcement” and “doesn’t commit the Authorities to contract for any provide or service.” Nevertheless, the request indicators federal regulation enforcement inspecting business promoting know-how for investigative deployment.
The company specified it really works with “growing volumes of prison, civil, and regulatory, administrative documentation from quite a few inner and exterior sources.” This operational context suggests ICE seeks instruments able to processing numerous knowledge streams at scale – capabilities promoting know-how firms developed for viewers concentrating on and marketing campaign optimization.
Advert tech surveillance capabilities
Advertising technology platforms have assembled complete knowledge assortment infrastructure by way of cellular purposes, related gadgets, and internet monitoring. Knowledge brokers mixture location coordinates, buy histories, looking conduct, and demographic attributes to create detailed client profiles bought to advertisers.
These identical capabilities allow surveillance when utilized to regulation enforcement contexts. Location knowledge collected by way of cellular promoting SDKs supplies timestamped coordinates displaying bodily actions. Behavioral monitoring assembles detailed exercise profiles. Id decision strategies join pseudonymous cellular promoting IDs to named people by way of cross-device matching and deterministic linkage.
The business knowledge {industry} operates with restricted oversight regardless of assembling surveillance infrastructure akin to intelligence capabilities. California approved regulations requiring knowledge brokers to course of client deletion requests by way of a centralized platform beginning August 2026, however federal privateness laws stays stalled.
Knowledge dealer enforcement actions have revealed the {industry}’s scope. California fined Datamasters $45,000 for promoting client lists organized by well being situations together with Alzheimer’s, dependancy, and ethnic backgrounds with out correct registration. The Texas firm marketed knowledge on hundreds of thousands of shoppers who remained unaware their info was being purchased and bought.
Privateness framework tensions
The RFI’s language about “regulatory constraints and privateness expectations” acknowledges authorized frameworks constraining authorities surveillance whereas business entities face minimal restrictions. Constitutional protections restrict warrantless authorities knowledge assortment, however buying the identical info from non-public brokers could circumvent these safeguards.
GDPR enforcement in Europe has focused office monitoring and surveillance applied sciences. France’s highest court reduced Amazon’s warehouse monitoring penalty from €32 million to €15 million, discovering some productiveness monitoring techniques legally justified whereas knowledge retention violations remained. European courts have clarified that physique cameras set off fast disclosure necessities below Article 13 GDPR.
American privateness frameworks stay fragmented throughout state jurisdictions. California’s complete privateness regulation established deletion rights and knowledge dealer registration, however most states lack equal protections. This regulatory patchwork allows knowledge brokers to function throughout jurisdictions whereas avoiding stringent oversight.
The business promoting ecosystem has resisted transparency necessities. Truthset research revealed IP tackle matching produces accuracy charges of 16% for e mail matches and 13% for postal matches, undermining {industry} claims about deterministic knowledge precision. The findings uncovered how billions in digital promoting spending depends on basically inaccurate viewers concentrating on.
Platform consolidation and knowledge entry
Major advertising platforms have consolidated behind AI brokers for autonomous marketing campaign administration. Amazon unified its DSP and sponsored advertisements console on November 10, launching AI brokers the next day. Google made its Advertisements Advisor obtainable to all English-language accounts on November 12. These platforms management huge knowledge repositories assembled by way of promoting operations.
IAB Tech Lab released its Agentic RTB Framework for public touch upon November 12, 2025, establishing requirements for containerized programmatic auctions. The framework defines how AI brokers take part in real-time bidding infrastructure, doubtlessly increasing automated knowledge processing capabilities that authorities companies might entry by way of business partnerships.
Ad tech consolidation has concentrated digital promoting income among the many prime 10 know-how firms, reaching 80.8 p.c market share. This focus creates chokepoints the place authorities entry to some platforms might expose complete client surveillance knowledge.
The promoting know-how {industry} debates agentic AI protocols amid transparency issues. Six firms launched the Advert Context Protocol on October 15, 2025, positioning it as unified infrastructure for AI brokers managing campaigns throughout platforms. Critics questioned whether or not new protocols tackle foundational issues or just add complexity to an opaque ecosystem.
Surveillance capitalism meets regulation enforcement
Business promoting know-how developed to affect client conduct by way of micro-targeted messaging. The identical infrastructure allows detailed inhabitants surveillance when authorities companies acquire entry. Cell promoting SDKs embedded in tons of of 1000’s of purposes gather location knowledge constantly, assembling motion patterns throughout billions of gadgets.
Knowledge brokers buy uncooked location knowledge from software builders and mixture coordinates into detailed mobility datasets. These merchandise, initially marketed to retailers and advertisers for foot visitors evaluation, present complete surveillance capabilities when utilized to investigations. The datasets embody timestamps, GPS coordinates correct to inside meters, and chronic machine identifiers enabling long-term monitoring.
European regulators launched antitrust investigations on December 9, 2025 inspecting whether or not Google violated EU competitors guidelines by utilizing writer content material for AI functions with out applicable compensation. Nevertheless, knowledge assortment for promoting faces fewer restrictions than content material utilization, creating regulatory gaps enabling surveillance infrastructure growth.
The promoting know-how {industry} operates by way of advanced provide chains involving 1000’s of firms exchanging knowledge by way of real-time bidding techniques. Every programmatic commercial request broadcasts consumer knowledge to dozens of platforms concurrently, creating alternatives for knowledge leakage and unauthorized entry. Authorities companies in search of investigative instruments might exploit this fragmented ecosystem.
Technical capabilities and implementation
ICE’s curiosity in “operational platforms and knowledge providers” suggests in search of turnkey options moderately than creating inner techniques. Business promoting know-how gives refined viewers segmentation, identification decision, location analytics, and behavioral prediction capabilities developed by way of billions in non-public funding.
Location knowledge providers marketed to advertisers embody geofencing instruments that set off alerts when gadgets enter outlined areas, foot visitors attribution connecting retailer visits to promoting publicity, and mobility sample evaluation figuring out commuting routes and frequented areas. These capabilities translate on to surveillance purposes for monitoring individuals of curiosity.
Behavioral analytics platforms course of looking histories, software utilization, buy information, and content material consumption to deduce pursuits, affiliations, and intent. Promoting know-how applies machine studying to foretell future conduct based mostly on historic patterns – capabilities equally relevant to menace evaluation and investigative prioritization.
Id decision providers join pseudonymous identifiers throughout gadgets, browsers, and purposes to unified client profiles. Business suppliers declare accuracy charges enabling cross-device monitoring, although research demonstrates vital precision limitations. However, probabilistic matching supplies investigative leads even with imperfect accuracy.
Regulatory implications and oversight gaps
The RFI’s acknowledgment of “regulatory constraints and privateness expectations” highlights pressure between authorities surveillance authorities and civil liberties protections. Fourth Modification jurisprudence restricts warrantless searches, however buying commercially obtainable knowledge could circumvent constitutional safeguards designed to restrict authorities intrusion.
The third-party doctrine, established in Seventies Supreme Court docket precedents, holds that people lack cheap privateness expectations in info voluntarily shared with third events. This framework enabled warrantless acquisition of cellphone information and financial institution statements. Fashionable promoting know-how extends this doctrine to complete behavioral surveillance assembled by way of tons of of company intermediaries.
Nevertheless, current jurisprudence has questioned third-party doctrine software to fashionable know-how. The Supreme Court docket’s 2018 Carpenter v. United States resolution required warrants for historic cell website location knowledge regardless of carriers amassing it for enterprise functions. The ruling acknowledged that complete location monitoring reveals intimate particulars about non-public lives deserving constitutional safety.
Business knowledge purchases by authorities companies occupy unsure authorized territory. Whereas the Carpenter resolution addressed direct entry to telecommunications information, buying equal knowledge from brokers who obtained it from software builders raises unanswered questions on constitutional limits. ICE’s request suggests federal companies actively exploring this authorized grey space.
GDPR enforcement in Europe supplies distinction with American regulatory gaps. The European Fee ready substantial amendments to GDPR by way of the Digital Omnibus initiative, proposing adjustments to non-public knowledge definitions and processing necessities significantly regarding synthetic intelligence growth. Nevertheless, American federal privateness laws stays stalled regardless of bipartisan recognition of surveillance capitalism issues.
Market response and business pursuits
Promoting know-how firms face selections about authorities partnerships carrying status dangers alongside income alternatives. Main platforms have prevented direct associations with surveillance purposes, however smaller specialised distributors more and more goal authorities contracts.
The business surveillance {industry} consists of established gamers like Palantir Applied sciences alongside knowledge brokers advertising and marketing client info to numerous patrons. Promoting know-how platforms possess equal capabilities however preserve business positioning distinct from authorities surveillance associations. ICE’s RFI assessments whether or not advert tech firms will embrace regulation enforcement markets.
Privacy-focused businesses have emerged responding to regulatory stress and client issues. Usercentrics introduced on January 14, 2026 that it acquired a startup governing AI system knowledge entry by way of Mannequin Context Protocol, positioning as the primary main privateness platform extending consent mechanisms into AI-driven workflows.
Nevertheless, the broader {industry} resists significant transparency and consumer management. Platforms revenue from complete knowledge assortment enabling micro-targeted promoting. Authorities contracts provide extra income whereas leveraging current surveillance infrastructure. Financial incentives favor cooperation over privateness safety absent stringent regulatory necessities.
The RFI’s emphasis on “business off-the-shelf options” signifies ICE seeks current merchandise moderately than customized growth. This method allows speedy deployment of surveillance capabilities with out prolonged procurement processes or public oversight typical of main authorities know-how initiatives.
Operational safety implications
The intersection of economic promoting know-how and authorities surveillance creates operational safety challenges for army and intelligence personnel. WIRED’s investigation demonstrated how knowledge brokers promote location coordinates monitoring actions to delicate amenities. ICE’s curiosity in the identical infrastructure suggests a number of federal companies exploring business surveillance instruments.
Navy installations, intelligence amenities, and delicate authorities operations turn into seen by way of business location knowledge regardless of safety protocols. Personnel utilizing smartphones with promoting SDKs embedded in purposes leak exact coordinates to knowledge brokers who promote the data to unknown patrons. Conventional operational safety focuses on communications safety and bodily entry management whereas business surveillance bypasses each.
The Pentagon’s lack of ability to forestall knowledge dealer gross sales of army personnel monitoring knowledge highlights regulatory gaps enabling safety threats. Overseas intelligence providers might buy the identical datasets revealing personnel identities, responsibility areas, and motion patterns. Business availability makes delicate operational knowledge accessible to adversaries by way of easy purchases.
ICE’s request for details about advert tech capabilities suggests federal companies acknowledge business surveillance potential. Nevertheless, the identical capabilities threatening army operational safety might help investigative operations. This duality creates coverage tensions between safety issues and regulation enforcement pursuits.
Congressional oversight questions
Federal acquisition of economic surveillance capabilities raises questions on congressional oversight and finances appropriations. Conventional intelligence assortment applications face intensive authorization necessities and periodic opinions. Business knowledge purchases occupy regulatory grey areas with unclear authorization frameworks.
Intelligence companies function below authorities established by way of Nationwide Safety Act provisions and subsequent amendments. Legislation enforcement companies like ICE function below completely different statutory frameworks centered on prison investigations moderately than overseas intelligence assortment. Nevertheless, business knowledge sources blur these distinctions by offering complete inhabitants surveillance relevant to each contexts.
Congressional appropriations committees sometimes evaluation main know-how acquisitions by way of detailed finances justifications. Business knowledge purchases could proceed by way of basic working bills or investigative line objects with out particular oversight. This funding opacity allows surveillance functionality enlargement with out express legislative authorization.
The RFI’s designation as market analysis moderately than solicitation suggests ICE conducting preliminary exploration. Nevertheless, market analysis typically precedes formal procurements. Corporations responding to info requests place themselves for subsequent contract alternatives when companies transfer from analysis to acquisition phases.
Worldwide knowledge governance comparability
European regulatory frameworks present instructive distinction with American surveillance capitalism. GDPR establishes complete particular person rights together with entry, correction, deletion, and restrictions on processing. Knowledge safety authorities actively implement necessities by way of investigations and substantial penalties.
Nevertheless, enforcement faces challenges balancing privateness safety towards {industry} stress. Former ECB chief Mario Draghi demanded GDPR cuts and AI Act implementation pauses at a Brussels convention, arguing laws create extreme prices for European firms. The European Fee proposed modest adjustments lowering record-keeping necessities for smaller firms, however complete reforms stay controversial.
Nationwide safety exemptions exist inside GDPR permitting member states to limit rights when essential for safety functions. These provisions allow European intelligence and regulation enforcement companies to course of private knowledge regardless of privateness protections. Nevertheless, exemptions require particular authorized authorization moderately than business purchases circumventing protections solely.
Belgium’s privacy regulator announced in December 2025 it was shifting enforcement assets towards large-scale promoting know-how platforms and knowledge brokers. This strategic reorientation acknowledges that systemic surveillance infrastructure poses better privateness threats than particular person web site violations.
Business requirements and accountability
IAB Tech Lab attempts establishing technical requirements for agentic AI techniques in promoting, however governance mechanisms lack enforcement authority. The group operates as {industry} self-regulatory physique moderately than unbiased overseer. Requirements adoption stays voluntary, with main platforms free to pursue proprietary approaches.
Technical protocols like OpenRTB outline how programmatic promoting techniques change knowledge throughout real-time auctions. These specs allow interoperability however comprise minimal privateness protections. Bid requests broadcast consumer knowledge to quite a few events concurrently with out significant consent mechanisms or objective limitations.
The promoting know-how ecosystem operates by way of advanced contractual relationships distributing legal responsibility throughout provide chain contributors. Publishers embed promoting tags loading code from a number of intermediaries. Every get together within the chain disclaims accountability for downstream knowledge practices whereas claiming compliance with privateness insurance policies and laws. This diffusion of accountability allows surveillance infrastructure enlargement with out clear accountability.
Self-regulatory frameworks like Digital Promoting Alliance ideas set up voluntary requirements for interest-based promoting. Nevertheless, compliance stays elective and enforcement mechanisms lack significant penalties. Business teams resist binding necessities preferring self-governance avoiding regulatory oversight.
Future trajectory and coverage questions
ICE’s request for info indicators federal regulation enforcement systematically exploring business surveillance instruments moderately than remoted experiments. The inquiry’s scope – overlaying each large knowledge platforms and promoting know-how particularly – signifies understanding of how these techniques work collectively enabling complete inhabitants monitoring.
As AI agents become central to promoting infrastructure, automated techniques will make autonomous selections about knowledge assortment, viewers concentrating on, and marketing campaign optimization. These capabilities translate on to automated surveillance when utilized to investigations. Machine studying techniques processing behavioral knowledge at scale might determine patterns and predict actions related to regulation enforcement pursuits.
The convergence of economic surveillance capitalism and authorities investigative authority creates a complete monitoring equipment working largely exterior conventional constitutional constraints. Present authorized frameworks tackle authorities knowledge assortment by way of warrant necessities whereas business knowledge meeting faces minimal restrictions. Buying commercially obtainable info could circumvent Fourth Modification protections designed to restrict authorities intrusion into non-public lives.
Coverage responses might take a number of instructions. Complete federal privateness laws might set up baseline restrictions on business knowledge assortment and use relevant to each non-public entities and authorities purchases. Such frameworks exist in Europe by way of GDPR however stay politically contentious in america regardless of bipartisan privateness issues.
Alternatively, judicial interpretation might prolong constitutional protections to business knowledge purchases by authorities companies. Courts might decide that Carpenter v. United States ideas limiting warrantless location knowledge entry apply equally to knowledge bought from brokers. This method would require case-by-case litigation moderately than complete legislative options.
Congressional oversight might require express authorization and appropriations for business surveillance instrument acquisitions. Intelligence committees might set up evaluation processes for knowledge dealer contracts just like authorities governing different assortment applications. Such oversight would offer transparency and accountability at present absent from business knowledge purchases.
Market analysis or coverage shift
The RFI’s designation as market analysis supplies political cowl whereas ICE gauges business surveillance capabilities. Nevertheless, info gathering sometimes precedes acquisition selections. Corporations investing assets responding to authorities requests anticipate subsequent contracting alternatives justifying these investments.
The particular framing round “Advert Tech compliant and placement knowledge providers” demonstrates refined understanding of economic surveillance infrastructure. This terminology suggests ICE consulted with {industry} contributors or technical specialists earlier than drafting the request. Authorities companies creating procurement necessities sometimes have interaction preliminary market analysis figuring out potential distributors and capabilities.
The February 2 response deadline supplies restricted time for complete submissions, suggesting ICE expects simple shows from established distributors moderately than novel options requiring intensive growth. This timeline aligns with business off-the-shelf product advertising and marketing moderately than customized authorities initiatives.
Chosen respondents will current “reside demonstrations of their operational capabilities,” based on the submitting. This format allows ICE to guage business surveillance instruments straight moderately than counting on written proposals. Demonstrations present alternatives for distributors to showcase options doubtlessly related to investigations whereas avoiding detailed public documentation about particular capabilities.
The Microsoft Kind submission portal streamlines responses however limits transparency about who participates. Not like conventional authorities procurements publishing respondent lists and proposal summaries, info requests could proceed with minimal public visibility. This opacity allows government-industry discussions about surveillance capabilities with out triggering civil liberties scrutiny typical of controversial applications.
Timeline
- November 19, 2024: WIRED investigation reveals knowledge brokers promoting greater than 3 billion cellphone coordinates monitoring US army and intelligence personnel actions in Germany
- January 23, 2026: ICE publishes request for details about business large knowledge and advert tech capabilities on SAM.gov
- January 24, 2026: WIRED reports on ICE’s request for promoting know-how instruments
- February 2, 2026: Response deadline for firms to submit details about operational platforms and knowledge providers
- February 3, 2026: RFI inactive date when ICE stops accepting submissions
- November 2024: Texas filed lawsuit towards Hisense over sensible TV surveillance affecting 1.27 million residents
- March 2025: California Attorney General announced investigative sweep into location knowledge {industry} concentrating on promoting networks and knowledge brokers
- November 6, 2025: California approved regulations for knowledge dealer deletion platform taking impact January 2026
- January 5-10, 2026: Agentic AI infrastructure dominated promoting week as platforms deployed autonomous marketing campaign techniques
- December 9, 2025: European regulators launched antitrust investigations into Google’s use of writer content material for AI
Abstract
Who: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement by way of its Homeland Safety Investigations division requested info from promoting know-how firms and large knowledge suppliers about business surveillance instruments relevant to investigations. The request entails firms working programmatic promoting platforms, knowledge brokers promoting location coordinates and behavioral profiles, and analytics suppliers processing massive datasets.
What: The request for info seeks operational platforms and knowledge providers from business promoting know-how suppliers that “straight help investigations actions.” Based on the SAM.gov submitting, ICE desires to grasp how business large knowledge and advert tech suppliers can help federal investigative operations. The company specified curiosity in “Advert Tech compliant and placement knowledge providers obtainable to federal investigative and operational entities, contemplating regulatory constraints and privateness expectations.” This consists of business off-the-shelf options for investigative knowledge, authorized analytics, and placement monitoring capabilities developed for focused promoting.
When: ICE printed the request on January 23, 2026 at 1:00 PM Japanese Commonplace Time on SAM.gov. Corporations should reply by February 2, 2026 at 10:00 AM Japanese Commonplace Time. The request turns into inactive on February 3, 2026. The timing coincided with November 2024 investigative reporting exposing how knowledge brokers promote location coordinates monitoring US army and intelligence personnel actions, demonstrating business surveillance capabilities related to authorities pursuits.
The place: The request originated from ICE’s Info Expertise Division throughout the Division of Homeland Safety, with contracting workplace positioned at 500 twelfth Road SW, Washington, DC 20024. Chosen respondents will current reside demonstrations of operational capabilities, although the submitting doesn’t specify demonstration areas. The business surveillance instruments ICE seeks function globally by way of cellular purposes, promoting platforms, and knowledge dealer networks assembling complete inhabitants monitoring infrastructure.
Why: The request displays federal regulation enforcement curiosity in leveraging business surveillance infrastructure developed for focused promoting to help prison investigations. ICE acknowledged it “is assessing {the marketplace} for current and rising business off-the-shelf options akin to massive suppliers of investigative knowledge and authorized/threat analytics.” The company works with “growing volumes of prison, civil, and regulatory, administrative documentation from quite a few inner and exterior sources,” suggesting want for instruments processing numerous knowledge streams at scale. Business promoting know-how gives refined capabilities together with location monitoring, behavioral evaluation, identification decision, and predictive analytics developed by way of billions in non-public funding. Nevertheless, the request raises questions on Fourth Modification constraints on warrantless surveillance, operational safety implications for army personnel, and regulatory gaps enabling authorities entry to complete client knowledge assembled by non-public firms dealing with minimal privateness restrictions.
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