Intelligence services reportedly spend millions on commercially available datasets gathered through the advertising industry
Spy agencies in the EU and the US are spending millions of taxpayers’ money to access commercially available personal data, according to findings published on Tuesday by Interface, a European think tank that gathered evidence from 11 intelligence watchdogs.
The practice, known as advertising-based intelligence, or AdInt, involves using personal data collected by the advertising industry for intelligence and surveillance purposes. The report said commercially available personal data has become a primary surveillance tool for the agencies as they increasingly obtain information from technology companies and data brokers.
“Via commercial vendors, national security agencies typically purchase access to a constantly updated stream of bulk data. That data contains information on mobile devices’ unique IDs, their precise location over time, as well as granular profile data of individual app users linked to these devices,” said Thorsten Wetzling, one of the study’s authors.
The data can reveal a person’s location, age, gender, political preferences, sexual orientation, religious beliefs and communication patterns. It is often collected through online advertising auctions, software embedded in mobile apps, social media platforms and internet-connected devices, then aggregated and sold by data brokers.
Built for advertising, the datasets have become a valuable commodity and an increasingly attractive target for intelligence and security agencies, which acquire them through a range of procurement channels.
The report said the use of AdInt ranges from off-the-shelf intelligence tools purchased by smaller governments to bulk commercial datasets acquired by major intelligence agencies. Some agencies buy data directly from vendors, while others use intermediaries or front companies to conceal their interest, it said.
“These practices are gaining momentum, not just in the United States where this has been reported more widely, but also across Europe,” Wetzling said.
The report cited growing evidence that intelligence agencies are active in the commercial data market, including cases where data purchases have been publicly disclosed.
In the US, the FBI has acknowledged previously purchasing location data derived from online advertising, while US Customs and Border Protection ran a pilot that acquired location information from mobile app software and digital advertising systems. An internal Department of Homeland Security report also found that some agencies had violated federal law through purchases of commercial location data.
In Europe, Austria’s Interior Ministry procured the surveillance tool Tangles, which includes a plug-in capable of analyzing ad-derived location data, though officials have not confirmed its operational use. In France, the foreign intelligence service sought authority to purchase internet browsing records.