PANOPTICON INDEX← Full index
Phone Forensics

PenLink

Also known as Pen-Link; owns Cobwebs Technologies.

PenLink has sold law-enforcement wiretap and call-data software for decades. Through its acquisition of Israeli firm Cobwebs, it added 'Tangles' OSINT and 'Webloc,' which tracks phones from commercial location data — sold to ICE and police to follow people without a warrant.

◍ Lincoln, NebraskaEst. 1986

People & money behind it

Agencies & customers

ICEFBILocal LE

Products (9)

Abuses & incidents

Abuse

Warrantless location tracking for ICE

2026

Reporting documented PenLink supplying ICE and DHS with Webloc location tracking and Tangles OSINT, letting agents follow phones and social accounts without a warrant. Flatwater Free Press reported ICE signed a $2.3 million contract to use the two tools, which were described as deployed during high-profile immigration crackdowns in cities like Minneapolis.

Lawsuit

Reverse public-records suit to keep police tools secret

2025

According to the EFF, Pen-Link filed a 'reverse' public-records lawsuit in late 2024 against the San Joaquin County (CA) Sheriff's Office to block release of its contracts, claiming its product names and prices were trade secrets and citing terms that purport to bar customers from disclosing use of its technology without the company's consent. EFF intervened, and a 2025 settlement forced disclosure — records showed the Sheriff paid $180,000 for a two-year subscription to the Tangles Web Intelligence Platform.

Further reading