Military

US Military: Data Brokers Used to Target American Troops in War Zones

Is the adtech industry a national security threat that demands federal regulation or is Big Tech already solving the problem on its own?

Published MAY 29

US Military: Data Brokers Used to Target American Troops in War Zones

Story

Above: The Pentagon on Feb. 8, 2025. Image credit: J. David Ake/Getty Images

The Spin

Narrative A

Big tech companies built an ad-driven surveillance machine that now doubles as a weapons targeting system, and years of lobbying killed any chance of a federal privacy law. The Pentagon's failure to act on a decade-old vulnerability is inexcusable and is putting U.S. troops in harm's way.

John Scott-Railton on X

Pat Harrigan on X

Narrative B

Tech companies are already moving toward solutions to this issue. Apple is limiting what precise location data is shared with carriers, and Alphabet's Google has said that Chrome has "industry leading security." The real fix is comprehensive federal regulation targeting data brokers, not the tech companies.

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