TechdirtFBI Tells Senate It’s Still Bypassing 4th Amendment By Purchasing Location Data From Third Parties
TheBadPlaceyahoo news | OPINION: Did Leon Black really pay Jeffrey Epstein $170 million for 'tax and...
In June 2022 Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D‑OR) began probing the “suspiciously lucrative” relationship between former Apollo Global Management CEO Leon Black and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Black had stepped down from Apollo in March 2021 after controversy over his ties to Epstein, insisting he knew nothing of the criminal’s activities and that Epstein never did business with the firm. Yet Wyden’s request‑for‑information letter highlighted a company‑commissioned investigation that suggested Black may have paid Epstein up to $170 million for tax and estate‑planning advice—well beyond typical CEO compensation and far exceeding fees paid to certified professionals.
Wyden’s inquiry centered on several oddities: the alleged payments ranged from $23 million to $26 million per year for several years, dwarfing the median 2021 Fortune 500 CEO pay of $15.9 million; the compensation appeared far above what is reasonable for estate‑planning services; and many of the agreements were unsigned. One unsigned tranche alone accounted for $56.5 million paid in five installments between 2013 and 2014. Wyden pressed Apollo to preserve all documents related to its internal probe, asking for any backup material that could verify whether Epstein’s “proprietary” tax strategies actually saved Black billions of dollars or were merely unfounded claims.
Although Wyden is now the ranking Democrat rather than the chair of the Finance Committee, he continues to push for transparency, introducing the “Produce Epstein Treasury Records Act” to force the Treasury Department to release bank records and other financial documents to congressional investigators. Wyden’s persistence underscores a broader frustration with Republican blockades and a desire for accountability, arguing that Epstein’s victims deserve justice and that no individual’s wealth should shield them from scrutiny or the consequences of “horrifying sexual abuse and pedophilia.”
#leonblack #jeffreyepstein #senatefinancecommittee #ronwyden #produceepsteintreasuryrecordsact
OPINION: Did Leon Black really pay Jeffrey Epstein $170 million for 'tax and estate planning'?
If some skeptics find the magic tax calculation hard to believe, they might have really raised eyebrows over the discovery that not all of the compensation agreements between Black and Epstein were signed.
Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻💻🧬The #Wyden Siren Goes Off Again: We’ll Be “Stunned” By What the #NSA Is Doing Under #Section702
#Senator #RonWyden says that when a secret interpretation of Section 702 is eventually declassified, the American public “will be stunned” to learn what the NSA has been doing. If you’ve followed Wyden’s career, you know this is not a man prone to hyperbole — and you know his track record on these warnings is perfect, this “directly affects the #privacy rights of #Americans.”
https://www.techdirt.com/2026/03/12/the-wyden-siren-goes-off-again-well-be-stunned-by-what-the-nsa-is-doing-under-section-702/
#Senator #RonWyden says that when a secret interpretation of Section 702 is eventually declassified, the American public “will be stunned” to learn what the NSA has been doing. If you’ve followed Wyden’s career, you know this is not a man prone to hyperbole — and you know his track record on these warnings is perfect, this “directly affects the #privacy rights of #Americans.”
https://www.techdirt.com/2026/03/12/the-wyden-siren-goes-off-again-well-be-stunned-by-what-the-nsa-is-doing-under-section-702/
yahoo news | Unearthed emails reveal Dem senator's son wanted Epstein to join his fund:...
Sen. Ron Wyden (D‑Ore.) has spent months publicly pressuring President Trump and the Justice Department to release Jeffrey Epstein’s records, claiming his “follow‑the‑money” probe ties the financier’s activities back to the former president. New documents released by the DOJ, however, show a personal connection: an April 2016 email chain reveals that Wyden’s son, Adam, met Epstein at the billionaire’s Manhattan mansion to pitch backing for Adam’s private investment vehicle, ADW Capital. The emails, written after Epstein’s conviction as a child‑sex‑offender was already public, include Adam’s gratitude for the meeting and a request for Epstein to join his fund.
The correspondence also includes logistical details of the meeting, with a ledger marking the appointment for 10:00 a.m. on April 28, 2016, and noting Adam as “Jonathon Farkas’ friend,” linking the younger Wyden to another figure with known ties to Epstein. Adam Wyden did not respond to Fox News requests for comment. When approached, Sen. Wyden said he does not discuss his children’s business activities and reiterated that his investigation, begun four years ago, remains unchanged and focused on transparency and accountability.
Wyden continued to criticize banks and the Trump administration for allegedly ignoring or “sleepwalking” through Epstein’s financial dealings, urging stronger watchdog measures and proposing legislation to hold banks accountable for turning a blind eye to illegal activity. The revelation that his son sought investment from Epstein adds a personal dimension to the senator’s broader call for scrutiny of the financier’s network, even as Epstein died by suicide in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex‑trafficking charges.
#ronwyden #adamwyden #jeffreyepstein #justicedepartment #trumpadministration
#FBI is buying #location data to track #US citizens, director confirms
When asked by Sen #RonWyden, if FBI would commit to not buying Americans’ location data, Patel said that agency “uses all tools … to do our mission.”
“We do purchase commercially available information that is consistent with the Constitution and the laws under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act — and it has led to some valuable intelligence for us,” Patel testified Wed.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/18/fbi-is-buying-location-data-to-track-us-citizens-kash-patel-wyden/
#privacy #surveillance
When asked by Sen #RonWyden, if FBI would commit to not buying Americans’ location data, Patel said that agency “uses all tools … to do our mission.”
“We do purchase commercially available information that is consistent with the Constitution and the laws under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act — and it has led to some valuable intelligence for us,” Patel testified Wed.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/18/fbi-is-buying-location-data-to-track-us-citizens-kash-patel-wyden/
#privacy #surveillance
infosertecla.comEl FBI admite la compra de datos de ubicación de ciudadanos estadounidenses sin orden judicial
La frontera entre la seguridad nacional y la privacidad individual se ha vuelto a desdibujar. Una investigación liderada por el senador Ron Wyden ha revelado que el FBI continúa comprando masivamente datos de ubicación de ciudadanos estadounidenses a través de corredores de datos (data brokers). Esta práctica permite a la agencia rastrear movimientos precisos sin necesidad de una orden judicial, aprovechando un vacío legal que el Congreso aún no ha logrado cerrar (Fuente Politico.com).
El informe surge en un momento de máxima tensión política, coincidiendo con las audiencias de confirmación de Kash Patel para dirigir el FBI, quien ha prometido una «limpieza profunda» de la agencia bajo la nueva administración.
¿Cómo obtiene el FBI estos datos?
En lugar de solicitar la información directamente a las operadoras telefónicas (lo que requeriría una orden de un juez), el FBI recurre al mercado comercial:
- Corredores de Datos: Empresas privadas recopilan información de ubicación proveniente de aplicaciones de juegos, clima y compras que los usuarios tienen instaladas en sus teléfonos.
- El «Vacío Legal»: Dado que estos datos están disponibles para la venta de forma «comercial», las agencias gubernamentales argumentan que comprarlos no constituye un registro ilegal bajo la Cuarta Enmienda.
- Precisión Alarmante: Según el senador Wyden, los datos adquiridos permiten reconstruir la vida entera de una persona: desde visitas al médico y lugares de culto hasta reuniones políticas privadas.
Kash Patel y la promesa de reforma
Durante las audiencias en el Senado, el nominado a director del FBI, Kash Patel, ha utilizado este informe para reforzar su discurso de reforma:
El contexto de marzo 2026
Esta revelación cierra una quincena donde la soberanía de los datos ha sido el tema central:
- Privacidad en Apps: Mientras Meta retira el cifrado en Instagram para facilitar la moderación, el FBI demuestra que la verdadera vulnerabilidad está en los metadatos de ubicación que las apps comparten en segundo plano.
- Nuevas Alternativas: El lanzamiento del navegador Comet de Perplexity y la VPN gratuita de Firefox responden precisamente a la creciente demanda de los usuarios por herramientas que bloqueen el rastreo publicitario y gubernamental.
- Geopolítica: La noticia llega el mismo día en que se filtran los detalles del «Impuesto TikTok», donde el gobierno recibirá 10.000 millones de dólares tras mediar en la venta de la app, subrayando el inmenso valor económico y estratégico de los datos de usuario.
¿Qué pueden hacer los usuarios?
Los expertos en privacidad recomiendan revisar de inmediato los «Servicios de Ubicación» en los ajustes de sus dispositivos (especialmente en los nuevos Galaxy S26 y iPhones) y restringir el acceso a la ubicación «siempre activa» para aplicaciones que no la necesiten estrictamente para funcionar.
Muchos legisladores quieren poner fin a esta práctica. Los senadores Ron Wyden (demócrata por Oregón) y Mike Lee (republicano por Utah) presentaron el 13 de marzo la Ley de Reforma de la Vigilancia Gubernamental , que exigiría a las agencias federales de inteligencia y aplicación de la ley obtener una orden judicial para comprar información personal de los estadounidenses.
#android #arielmcorg #bigdata #ciberseguridad #fbi #infosertec #innovación #ios #KashPatel #PORTADA #privacidad #RonWyden #TechNews2026 #tecnología
Trump Administration Moves to Allow Intelligence Agencies Easier Access to Law Enforcement Files
Trump Administration Moves to Allow Intelligence Agencies Easier Access to Law Enforcement Files
This story was originally published by ProPublica. Republished under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 license. The Trump administration is loosening restrictions on the sharing of law enforcement information with…
The Wyden Siren Goes Off Again: We’ll Be “Stunned” By What the NSA Is Doing Under Section 702
FoundOnWebWhen #RonWyden speaks it's important that we all listen very carefully.
https://www.techdirt.com/2026/03/12/the-wyden-siren-goes-off-again-well-be-stunned-by-what-the-nsa-is-doing-under-section-702
https://www.techdirt.com/2026/03/12/the-wyden-siren-goes-off-again-well-be-stunned-by-what-the-nsa-is-doing-under-section-702
Ron Wyden Is Begging His Colleagues To Stop Trying To Hand Trump A Censorship Weapon
