Taylor Lorenz’s Power User You Are Probably Being Tracked By ICE Right Now
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Oct 10, 2025 A sweeping new surveillance system by ICE aims to monitor millions in real-time, fusing mobile location data with social media scraping. Tools like Tangles and WebLoc, developed by an Israeli firm, enable detailed tracking and profiling. There's concern about the implications for free speech, as ICE looks to flag lawful posts under vague definitions of extremism. The militarization of personal data raises alarms about privacy and democratic freedoms, prompting discussions on the broader threats of mass surveillance.
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ICE Buying All-In Surveillance Suite
- ICE plans to buy PenLink tools that bundle location and social media aggregation.
- These tools (Tangles and WebLock) were originally built by Israeli firm Cobwebs and enable mass surveillance.
Combining Location And Social Profiles
- Tangles fuses social media data while WebLock maps device geolocation histories.
- Together they let analysts link physical movements to online activity at scale.
Automation Replaces Manual Investigations
- ICE chose PenLink for its ability to automate data harvesting and synthesis.
- The agency paid roughly $5 million to avoid manual correlation of fragmented sources.