The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) issued an urgent alert today, revealing that the same hidden tracking technologies used for targeted advertising are enabling law enforcement agencies to bypass the Fourth Amendment. According to the nonprofit, data brokers harvest location history and other sensitive details from millions of web users and sell that information directly to agencies like the FBI, CBP, and ICE—without a warrant.
“Commercial surveillance has become a backdoor for mass government spying,” said EFF Senior Policy Analyst Amul Kalia in a statement. “What many people think of as just creepy ads is actually a system that allows the government to buy your private data and sidestep constitutional protections.”
Background
The EFF’s popular browser extension, Privacy Badger, blocks the trackers that turn web browsing into a commodity for advertisers and data brokers. Originally designed to stop user profiling and invasive ads, the tool now plays a central role in a much larger fight.
“Online tracking isn't just creepy and unethical. It also enables government surveillance,” the EFF noted in its appeal. Weak privacy laws allow data brokers to collect massive amounts of personal data and sell it to law enforcement, who then exploit the data to monitor individuals—often without probable cause or a judge’s sign-off.
This practice affects everyone. Location data, browsing habits, and even private messages can be funneled to government agencies through legal but unregulated data markets. The EFF has documented cases where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) purchased location data to track immigrants and travelers without warrants.
What This Means
If commercial surveillance continues unchecked, the line between corporate tracking and government monitoring will disappear entirely. “Privacy is a human right because it gives you a fundamental measure of security and freedom,” the EFF said. “But when tools that many of us must rely on serve corporate surveillance, they also feed government surveillance.”
The EFF is fighting back on multiple fronts: advocating for stronger privacy laws, pushing courts to uphold consumer rights, and investigating how surveillance technologies affect communities. Its core tool, Privacy Badger, directly cuts off the data supply that fuels both ad targeting and government requests.
“We owe it to ourselves to fight the mass spying used to control and intimidate people,” the EFF added. The organization is calling on the public to join its membership campaign and support this work.
For a limited time, new members can receive a Privacy Badger-themed crewneck sweatshirt or a set of puffy stickers featuring the iconic Ghostie mascot, with the word “privacy” in multiple languages. The 2023 “Claw Back!” T‑shirt, depicting an orange cat swatting at street-level surveillance equipment, is also available to donors.
The EFF is a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit that has earned top ratings from Charity Navigator since 2013. Donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law.