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Location Data Brokers

WebLoc

Ad-based geolocation that retroactively tracks up to 500 million phones without a warrant.

WebLoc is a Tangles add-on, originally from Cobwebs Technologies, that harvests device location and identifiers from the mobile advertising ecosystem, including SDK-based and real-time-bidding (RTB) ad-exchange data. According to Citizen Lab, it can access location records from up to 500 million mobile devices globally and lets customers geofence areas and reconstruct an individual's movements up to three years into the past without a search warrant.

What it does

  • Ad-exchange (RTB) and SDK location harvesting
  • Geofencing of arbitrary areas
  • Historical movement reconstruction (up to 3 years)
  • Device identifier and behavioral profiling
  • Warrantless population-scale tracking

Where it's deployed

  • U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
  • Texas Department of Public Safety
  • Los Angeles Police Department
  • U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence
  • U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command
  • Bureau of Indian Affairs Police

Agencies using it

ICELAPDLocal LEDoD

Sources

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