ICE Asks Companies About ‘Ad Tech and Big Data’ Tools They Can Use in Investigations
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement is asking companies to provide information about “commercial Big Data and Ad Tech” products that “will directly support investigative activities,” according to a request for information filed Friday in the Federal Register, the US government’s official journal of agency notices, rulemakings, and other public filings.
The post says ICE “works with increasing volumes of criminal, civil, and regulatory, administrative documents from multiple internal and external sources.” The agency is filing the request as a way to assess what tools are currently available to help manage and analyze the information ICE has, saying it is looking at “existing and emerging” products “compared to major providers of investigative data and legal/risk analytics.”
In addition, the filing states that “the government seeks to understand the current state of Ad Tech compliance and location data services available to government investigative and operational agencies, taking into account regulatory constraints and privacy expectations for investigative support activities.” The filing provides little detail beyond that broad definition: It doesn’t specify what privacy laws or standards might apply, and it doesn’t mention any specific “Big Data and Advertising” services or vendors ICE is interested in.
The filing appears to be the first time the word “ad tech” has appeared in a request for information, contract solicitation, or contract waiver that ICE has sent to the Federal Registry, according to a search by WIRED. The request emphasizes how tools that were developed for digital advertising and other commercial purposes are increasingly being considered for government use for law enforcement and surveillance.
ICE and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment from WIRED.
ICE previously used the term “big data” in Palantir’s contract justification to provide “unlimited operation and maintenance support for the FALCON program” and unlimited licenses for “Palantir Gotham.” Gotham is Palantir’s off-the-shelf investigative tool for law enforcement. The company offers a custom version of Gotham to ICE known as the “Investigative Case Management” program. FALCON is a tool within Palantir’s custom-built system that ICE uses to “store, search, analyze, and visualize volumes of existing information” about current and past investigations.
ICE has also previously purchased products that provide mobile location data, which is sometimes included in the information provided by companies that buy and sell information collected for online advertising. Ad technology data may include information about the device and applications a person uses, their location, and their browsing activity, among other information.
ICE purchased commercial location data obtained from Webloc, a tool sold by the company Penlink. Webloc allows the user to collect information about the mobile phones used in a specific location at a specific time. Users have the ability to filter displayed devices according to criteria such as whether their location is collected by “GPS, WiFi, or IP address,” or by “Apple and Android advertising identifiers,” according to a 404 Media report.
In recent years, ICE has also purchased licenses to use Ventel, a data vendor and Gravy Analytics company that collects and sells consumer location data. In a Federal Registry entry closing the contract with Ventel last year, ICE reported that its Enforcement and Removal Operations division used the company’s software to “access/obtain information to accurately identify digital devices.”
The Federal Trade Commission alleged in 2024 that Ventel sold sensitive consumer location data without obtaining proper consent from individuals for commercial and government purposes. The FTC later prohibited Gravy Analytics and Ventel from “selling, disclosing, or using sensitive location data except in limited circumstances involving national security or law enforcement.” (Gravy Analytics has neither admitted nor denied any of the allegations made by the FTC.)
