Congress probes US troop tracking via commercial location data

U.S. lawmakers are demanding explanations regarding the continued ability to track military personnel through commercially purchased location data. Congressional inquiries focus on why existing safeguards have failed to prevent adversaries from acquiring sensitive movement patterns via data brokers. Reports indicate that despite previous warnings, aggregated smartphone telemetry remains available for purchase without adequate vetting or anonymization. Legislators argue this vulnerability compromises national security by exposing base locations and individual soldier movements. The investigation targets both federal agencies responsible for oversight and private firms monetizing geospatial intelligence. Critics assert that current procurement policies lack sufficient enforcement mechanisms to block high-risk datasets. This scrutiny follows repeated demonstrations showing how easily open-source intelligence tools can correlate commercial data with military activities. Congress seeks legislative remedies to close loopholes allowing unrestricted access to domestic location information.