This article was produced with support from the Capitol Forum.
A location data company is asking police for the address of specific people’s doctors in case that can be useful in finding their mobile phone in a massive set of peoples’ location data, according to a document provided to U.S. law enforcement and obtained by 404 Media.
The document is a “Project Intake Form” that asks police for information about the person of interest they would like to track, such as biographical information and known locations, including family and friends' addresses and doctors offices they may visit. It shows that, in a time when surveillance of abortion and reproductive health clinics could rise in a post-Roe America, companies providing monitoring tools to the government are prepared to use healthcare information to track down targets. The company is called Fog Data Science, and its product uses location data harvested from smartphones either through ordinary apps or the advertising ecosystem. In 2022 the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) revealed Fog had sold its phone tracking technology to multiple U.S. agencies, including local police. The document is included in a set of emails from March this year that 404 Media obtained through a public records request, showing the company is still pitching its technology to local law enforcement.
“Your objectives help us target what you want most. Details about the POI [person of interest] help us eliminate devices more efficiently,” the document reads. It then asks for details on the target, such as their name or known aliases, their link to criminal activity, their “distinguishing characteristics” such as their “gender, ethnicity, religion.”