NSA’s Purchase of American Web Browsing Data: Senator Wyden Unveils Surveillance Practices

The Director of the National Security Agency (NSA) has confirmed that the agency purchases web browsing data related to Americans from brokers without prior authorization.

This revelation comes in the wake of Senator Ron Wyden’s efforts to unveil the NSA’s practices, leading to a delay in the appointment of Timothy Haugh as the Director of the NSA until the agency responded to Wyden’s inquiries about collecting Americans’ location and internet data.

For three years, Senator Wyden has been striving to publicly disclose that the NSA purchases Americans’ internet records, in a letter dated December 11, NSA Director Paul Nakasone admitted to Wyden that the agency acquires various types of commercially available information for foreign intelligence, cybersecurity, and other authorized mission purposes, this includes information associated with electronic devices used both outside and, in some cases, inside the United States.

Nakasone further clarified that the NSA does not purchase or use aggregated location data from phones known to be used within the U.S., whether with or without a court order.

Additionally, the NSA does not buy or use data from remote vehicle control systems known to be located in the U.S.

A spokesperson for the NSA emphasized that such data is used sparingly, though it holds significant value for national security and cybersecurity purposes.

The agency takes steps at all stages to minimize the collection of American personal information, including the application of technical filters.

Senator Wyden has condemned this practice as illegal, noting that such records could potentially identify Americans who reach out to suicide hotlines or survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.

He urged Avril Haines, the Director of National Intelligence, to issue an order preventing American intelligence agencies from buying data on Americans without consent.

Wyden also requested Haines to direct intelligence agencies to inventory personal data purchased about Americans, including location and internet metadata, and delete any data that does not meet the Federal Trade Commission’s standards regarding personal data sales.

This issue of federal agencies buying phone location data is not new. In 2020, it was revealed that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection was engaged in such practices, and Wyden claimed the following year that the Defense Intelligence Agency had purchased and used location data from Americans’ phones.