A private database containing more than 400 million names, addresses and service records from more than 80 utility companies is being used by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to pursue US immigration violators, according to Georgetown Law researchers who made The Washington Post aware of their findings.
According to a report published by The Independent, ICE’s use of the database demonstrates yet another example of how government agencies have exploited commercial sources to access information they are not authorized to gather on their own. Plus, it highlights how real-world surveillance efforts are being driven by information people may never expect to land in the hands of law enforcement. The database, CLEAR, contains records held by water, gas, electricity, phone, internet and cable TV companies.