Surprise, surprise: CBP officers are misusing surveillance tech - Engadget

Agents reportedly used electronic databases to spy on family members and even provide intelligence to drug traffickers. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents have reportedly misused electronic databases to spy on family members, try to get dates and even provide intelligence to suspected drug traffickers, according to freedom of information (FOIA) files seen by Wired. Officers allegedly abused databases that can draw from sources like license plate readers, facial recognition and smartphone searches to violate the privacy of numerous individuals. The FOIA files, ranging from 2009 to 20222, show a number of troubling incidents. A CBP officer is alleged to have used a government database to contact a flight attendant, and another was accused of using data from trusted-traveler applications to ask people out. One employee provided border-crossing data to someone involved in a divorce, and another abused internal policies by tracking coworkers cellphones with ad-tech-derived location data. Of 300 incidents tracked by Wired, 138 were referred to CBP management and 78 assigned to criminal investigators, while 43 others weren't investigated. Many of the claims were handled interna