Editing NSA (section)

===Purchasing illegally-obtained data===
In January 2024, "NSA officials told [US Senator Ron Wyden] that not only is the intelligence agency purchasing data on Americans located in the US but that it also bought Americans' Internet metadata." Wyden also "suggested that the intelligence community might be helping data brokers violate an FTC order requiring that Americans [...] give informed consent before their data can be sold to third parties."<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Belanger |first=Ashley |date=26 Jan 2024 |title=NSA finally admits to spying on Americans by purchasing sensitive data |url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/01/nsa-finally-admits-to-spying-on-americans-by-purchasing-sensitive-data/ |website=Ars Technica}}</ref> 

The FTC order in question being part of a settlement with X-Mode Social, Inc. and its successor, Outlogic, LLC. The order established a precedent to prohibit data brokers from collecting and selling ''sensitive'' consumer data without explicit consent from the consumer.<ref>{{Cite web |title=In the Matter of X-Mode Social, Inc., a corporation, and Outlogic, LLC., a Limited Liability Company {{!}} Decision and Order |url=https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/X-Mode-D%26O.pdf |website=Federal Trade Commission}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=12 April 2024 |title=FTC Finalizes Order with X-Mode and Successor Outlogic Prohibiting it from Sharing or Selling Sensitive Location Data |url=https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/04/ftc-finalizes-order-x-mode-successor-outlogic-prohibiting-it-sharing-or-selling-sensitive-location |website=Federal Trade Commission}}</ref> Notably, this order "seems to carve out exceptions for any [location] data collected outside the US and used for either 'security purposes' or 'national security purposes conducted by federal agencies or other federal entities.'"<ref name=":0" />

This incident may indicate pressure from the NSA on data brokers and collectors to continue privacy violations, opt-in by default practices, and user tracking.