Congress Demands Answers on Continued Tracking of US Troops via Purchased Location Data
US Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Rep. Pat Harrigan (R-NC) have called for an investigation by the Defense Department Inspector General into why location data tied to US military personnel remains commercially available, despite efforts to prevent such tracking. In May, the lawmakers, along with a bipartisan group, revealed how commercially purchased location data, often collected by mobile apps and advertising SDKs, could be used to identify and target US military personnel. The Department of Defense (DoD) has been aware of this threat since at least 2016. While several military branches, including the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Special Operations Command, have confirmed they now disable advertising IDs on government-issued devices, reports indicate that location data pinpointing troop movements is still accessible. The lawmakers are seeking to understand why current DoD policies have not fully mitigated this risk, speculating that some components may have only recently disabled advertising id...