For years, data brokers have abused Americans’ most personal data in every way possible, selling people’s identifying information to businesses, other individuals and even governments. Now, a string of news stories underscore how the industry’s practices are increasingly endangering women’s safety.
Data brokers are selling the ability to track phones that visit abortion clinics and follow them back across state lines, all the way to their owners’ homes. All it takes for this kind of 24-hour surveillance is a credit card. Given the creepy enthusiasm with which MAGA government officials are inserting themselves into women’s health choices, these tracking tools present a pressing danger for women across the country.
Again and again, MAGA politicians show that they will go to shameful lengths to control women’s bodies.
According to reports by multiple news organizations last week, the data broker Babel Street allowed a private investigator to use its Locate X tool to zero in on abortion clinics and other sensitive locations. While Babel Street advertises its tool as being for government use, in practice this private investigator received a weeklong trial subscription, apparently without any vetting whatsoever.
I’ve spent years probing data broker malfeasance, and unfortunately this news wasn’t surprising. My investigations found that wireless companies let data brokers sell Americans’ location information to bounty hunters, corrupt law enforcement officials and nearly anyone with a credit card. Earlier this year, I revealed that data brokers helped anti-abortion activists send targeted misinformation about abortion to patients at 600 Planned Parenthood clinics across the country. I discovered that automakers sold drivers’ location data and other records to data brokers for pennies. And I successfully pushed utility companies to end their practice of giving away their customers’ personal information to data brokers.
Again and again, MAGA politicians show that they will go to shameful lengths to control women’s bodies. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Republicans have moved mountains to restrict the constitutional rights and freedoms of women, making it impossible for many women to live their lives free from government intrusion. They won’t rest until there’s a politician in every bedroom and exam room in America.
But Americans shouldn’t accept a reality where their phones are sleeper agents for stalkers and fundamentalist politicians to track women across the country. Here’s how we can fight back.
First, anyone who cares about women’s rights needs to make themselves heard and vote for candidates who have a track record of protecting those rights. The Dobbs decision to overturn women’s right to choose was the culmination of a decadeslong far-right movement to take over the nation’s courts. Democrats need to respond with the same amount of determination, which is why I introduced the Judicial Modernization and Transparency Act to reform the court system and ensure our judges better represent American values.
When it comes to violations of Americans’ privacy, our country has reached a crisis point.
Second, the executive branch should use the powers it already has to crack down on data brokers’ sleazy behavior. At my urging, the Federal Trade Commission has already started to go after some data brokers that sold location data collected from Americans’ without their consent. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is expected to announce its own regulations in the near future to extend financial privacy rules to the industry.
States can also act to protect their residents. Starting in 2026, Californians will be able to sign up for a new data broker registry, where with a single click they can require the brokers to delete their data and stop selling it in the future. The law that created that new privacy control, which will put tens of millions of Americans back in control of their own personal data, was modeled after legislation I wrote. I encourage other states to follow California’s lead.
Third, Congress needs to finally breach the corporate barricade that has blocked a strong consumer privacy law. I’ve authored my own strong privacy bills, the Mind Your Own Business Act and the Banning Surveillance Advertising Act. And in the coming months I plan to release two new bills: one that will protect Americans’ privacy by limiting how much data websites and apps can collect on Americans and preventing data brokers from amassing and selling that data, and another that will protect Americans from being spied on by their smart TVs and set-top boxes and having that data given away or sold to data brokers.
Finally, it’s notable that the vast majority of the phones tracked by Babel Street’s Locate X tool used Google’s Android operating system. Though Apple changed its privacy settings in 2021 to make it far easier for users to stop apps from hoovering up and selling their personal information, Google has failed to do the same. As a result, people who use Android phones are far more vulnerable to surveillance than people who use iPhones. It doesn’t take a genius to understand why the largest online advertising company in the world does not want to make it easy for users to stop tracking by advertising companies and their data broker partners. Google could act immediately to limit data broker access to location information and cut this slimy industry off at the source.
When it comes to violations of Americans’ privacy, our country has reached a crisis point. The repeal of Roe has only heightened the stakes for women who want to make health decisions without a politician in their doctor’s office or a stalker watching their phone. The good news is, there’s no mystery about how to solve this problem. There’s a clear path forward for protecting our privacy and safety that Americans should insist on from our government.
Sen. Ron Wyden
Ron Wyden, Oregon’s senior U.S. senator, is a senior member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
