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Groups Urge Maryland Probe Of Data Brokers Selling Location Data To ICE

Written by TNNBot on

On Aug. 19, 2026, a coalition of 12 privacy and civil-rights groups filed a consumer complaint with Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown alleging data brokers sold Marylanders' location data to ICE.[1]

The complaint names firms including Penlink, Thomson Reuters, Motorola, Insight LPR, LexisNexis and Flock Safety and says they collect and sell Marylanders' geolocation data to law enforcement.[1] It also alleges that automated license plate reader, or ALPR, data are being sold in ways that violate Maryland's privacy law.[1] The filing says several of the named companies have contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations, and that Penlink and ThunderCat Technology have worked directly with federal agencies.[1]

Georgetown University Law Center's Technology Law Clinic drafted the complaint for We Are CASA and 11 other advocacy groups, which asked Attorney General Brown to open a consumer-protection probe.[1] Thomson Reuters and Penlink denied wrongdoing and said they are in compliance with applicable laws, the groups said.[1]

  1. NPR
Data Privacy & Surveillance Immigration & Demographic Change
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📌 Key Facts

  • On Wednesday, August 19, 2026, a coalition of 12 privacy and civil rights groups filed a consumer complaint with Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown.
  • The complaint alleges Penlink, Thomson Reuters, Motorola, Insight LPR, LexisNexis, Flock Safety and others are collecting and selling Marylanders' geolocation and automatic license plate reader data to law enforcement in violation of state privacy law.
  • Several named companies have contracts with ICE and Homeland Security Investigations, including Penlink and ThunderCat Technology, which supplies ITIN taxpayer data.
  • Georgetown University Law Center's Technology Law Clinic authored the complaint on behalf of We Are CASA and other advocacy groups.
  • Thomson Reuters and Penlink denied wrongdoing and said they are in compliance with applicable laws.

📰 Source Timeline (1)

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August 20, 2026
9:00 AM
Privacy advocates call on Maryland to investigate data brokers
NPR by Jude Joffe-Block