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Law enforcement agencies can (and do) purchase ad targeting profile data, and can also force warrantless searches of commercial databases, at least in the US.

They also can legally (and do) intercept things like backup replication streams of the big providers (they did this to yahoo years ago, for example).

My rule of thumb is that if any big consumer cloud service has it, then law enforcement does too.

Since the data is gathered using gray-area / illegal techniques, it will never be used in legitimate ways in court, which means it will only ever be used to further violate the rights of private citizens.




> Law enforcement agencies can (and do) purchase ad targeting profile data

Ad targeting profile data isn't typically sold in a way that's particularly useful to LE. It's the most valuable thing the ad networks own. I can't call up Facebook [1], and ask to buy your demographic profile. I can call up Facebook, and ask to buy the ability to show ads to people fitting your demographic profile.

Data from big providers, that ends up in the hands of law enforcement, is gathered through one of two ways:

1. Legitimate requests for access, with a judge signing off on it, an associated paper trail, and some pushback from the companies.

2. NSLs, with a secret judge signing off on it, and nearly no paper trail, and some pushback from the companies.

As far as I'm aware, #1 dwarfs #2 in frequency of access, and is also a completely legal, above-board way for LE to operate.

Stingrays, on the other hand, are much more like #2.

I mean, if you're not going to go through the trouble of protecting yourself from a Stingray, I understand. I occasionally jaywalk, and don't always cook my meat to 'well-done', wear mixed fabrics, and may have played hokey during my last dentist appointment. It's a risk/hazard sort of thing.

But if type #2 LE access is what you're concerned about, then you should probably look into dealing with Stingrays.

[1] Actually, I guess I can, as we discover with the train wreck of a platform partners program. And I am shocked that it is that much of a train wreck. Still, I can't buy your profile from Apple, or Google, or Microsoft.




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