It's done by telcos and data brokers. Every US citizen has a detailed profile compiled about their personal lives that the US government can access at will. Google and Meta are the new kids at the table of a long running game.
You don't need a warrant to get data from a third party. The government just asks and if the they enjoy receiving special treatment and other favors in the future they comply. That's why the USG likes to have this collection devolved to private entities.
Google isn't the one holding the keys to the castle. Data brokers predate them by decades. The primary reason why the US has weak data protection laws is because the government doesn't want their activities to be encumbered.
partially true but fodder for schizophrenics and compulsive obsessions.. A truer picture is harder to convey in a few sentences.. however as a US citizen I believe that an uneasy truce has been established via law in the USA since inception, between those casually referred to as "Law and Order" who genuinely believe that governance means record keeping and monitoring, and others who do not. Unfortunately for the "others" that includes genuinely bad actors who seek to use rights to evade detection, or those too stupid or simple to think about these things at all. Meanwhile, the Net has given magnificent, grandiose power to build and use surveillance, which they have done. ill wind blows
