The posting said ICE is “working with an increasing volume of criminal, civil and regulatory, administrative documentation from multiple internal and external sources.” The agency framed the request as a way to survey what tools are currently available to help manage and analyze the information ICE holds, saying it is looking at “existing and emerging” products that are “comparable to larger providers of investigative data and legal/risk analytics.”
Additionally, the entry states, “The government is seeking to understand the current state of ad tech analog and location data services available to federal investigative and operational entities, considering the regulatory constraints and privacy expectations of supporting investigative activities.” The filing provides little detail beyond that broad description: It does not say what rules or privacy standards will apply, nor does it name any specific “big data and ad tech” services or vendors in which ICE is interested.
According to searches conducted by WIRED, this entry appears to be the first time that the term “ad technology” has appeared in a request for information, contract solicitation, or contract justification posted by ICE in the federal registry. The request highlights how tools originally developed for digital advertising and other commercial purposes are being considered by the government for use for law enforcement and surveillance.
ICE and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to WIRED’s requests for comment.
ICE has previously used the term “big data” in a contract justification for Palantir to provide “unlimited operations and maintenance support of the Falcon system” and unlimited licenses for “Palantir Gotham”. Gotham is Palantir’s off-the-shelf investigative tool for law enforcement. The company provides ICE with a custom version of Gotham known as an “Investigative Case Management” system. Falcon is a tool within the customized Palantir system that ICE uses to “store, search, analyze, and visualize the volume of existing information” about current and prior investigations.
ICE has previously purchased products that provide mobile location data, which is sometimes part of the information provided by companies buying and selling information collected for online advertising. Advertising technology data may also include details about the devices and apps a person is using, where they are located, and their browsing activity, among other information.
ICE has purchased business location data obtained from WebBlock, a tool sold by the company Penlink. WebLock allows the user to collect information about mobile phones being used in a specific area during a particular time period. As 404 Media reports, users have the ability to filter displayed devices according to criteria such as whether their location was collected through “GPS, WiFi, or IP addresses” or their “Apple and Android advertising identifiers.”
In recent years, ICE has also purchased a license to use Ventail, a subsidiary of Gravy Analytics, a data broker and firm that collects and sells consumer location data. In a federal registry entry closing a contract with Ventel last year, ICE reported that its Enforcement and Removal Operations Division had used the company’s software to “access/obtain information to accurately identify digital devices.”
The Federal Trade Commission alleged in 2024 that Ventel sold sensitive consumer location data for commercial and government purposes without obtaining proper consent from people. The FTC subsequently barred Gravy Analytics and Ventel from “selling, disclosing, or using sensitive location data except in limited circumstances involving national security or law enforcement.” (Gravy Analytics neither admitted nor denied any of the allegations made by the FTC.)
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