February 4, 2026
From pop-ups to perp walks
ICE seeks industry input on ad tech location data for investigative use
ICE eyes ad trackers for investigations — commenters yell “Adblock now!” and “Tech built this”
TLDR: ICE is exploring using advertising data—like phone location—to aid investigations, and the internet is not chill about it. Commenters push ad blockers, slam industry hypocrisy, and question legality and privacy, warning that the surveillance tech built for ads is now knocking on law enforcement’s door.
ICE just posted a “tell us what you’ve got” Request for Information, asking ad-tech companies if their location data and tracking tools can turbocharge investigations. Think phone pings, app-installed trackers, and device IDs—normally used to sell shoes—now potentially used to spot suspects. The agency says it wants demos of “operational platforms,” promises to mind “privacy expectations,” and is exploring the commercial data stream instead of building its own. Translation for the crowd: the same systems that map your mall trips could be mashed up with criminal records and social posts. Cue the internet sirens.
The top vibe? Paranoia meets “told you so.” One camp is slamming the panic button: “This is why you must block all ads always. No exceptions.” Another crowd is calling out Big Tech hypocrisy, with a zinger for the “weekend resistors” who built surveillance tools but balk when badges use them. Skeptics aren’t buying the “privacy” talk either, snapping, “That’s rich—respect the law first.” Meanwhile, cynical humor is high: “If you want to target a demographic, ask the experts,” one commenter quips, as others warn engineers that the hypothetical abuse moment is now.
Between jokes about “from foot traffic analytics to foot chases” and grim reminders that the data was never truly anonymous, the community’s take is clear: whether it’s ICE or ad tech, the tracking economy just got very real for everyone.
Key Points
- •ICE’s HSI issued an RFI to survey ad tech and big data vendors for location data and analytics to support investigations.
- •The RFI is market research, not a formal solicitation, but signals interest in vendor demonstrations that may precede pilots.
- •ICE seeks “Ad Tech compliant” services and operational platforms capable of ingesting, correlating, and visualizing multi-source data.
- •Targeted data includes location signals, device identifiers, IP intelligence, and behavioral data derived from consumer activity.
- •The agency aims to leverage commercial off-the-shelf platforms while considering regulatory constraints and privacy expectations.