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?
Above: The Pentagon on Feb. 8, 2025. Image credit: J. David Ake/Getty Images
The Facts
- U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has alleged that it received "multiple threat reports concerning adversary exploitation of commercial location data to target or surveil U.S. personnel in theater," marking the first official acknowledgment that commercial data brokers are being used to target American forces in an active war zone.
- In response, a bipartisan group of 14 lawmakers sent a letter to the Pentagon's chief information officer urging immediate action, warning that location data can reveal troop movements and expose personnel to attacks, including missiles, drones and roadside bombs.
- The Pentagon has not responded to requests for comment. Lawmakers said that their efforts to obtain additional information from military officials about the reported targeting incidents had been unsuccessful.
Sources Split
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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.
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.
The Controversies
Go Deeper
© 2026 Improve the News Foundation. All rights reserved.Version 7.17.1
© 2026 Improve the News Foundation.
All rights reserved.
Version 7.17.1