Controversial cell phone surveillance technology has been found in the possession of another government agency not previously known to have it: the Internal Revenue Service.
A week after federal law enforcement officials with the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security testified on Capitol Hill about new regulations intended to bring more legal oversight and transparency over law enforcement officers’ use of cell site simulators, also known as “stingrays,” a new report revealed the Treasury Department also has the technology in its employ.
Invoices obtained by The Guardian via a Freedom of Information Act request show that the IRS first purchased a cell site simulator in 2009, and upgraded its capabilities in 2012.
Stingrays are used for investigations by both federal and local law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, the US Marshals Service, and the Secret Services. Until recently, authorities only needed a court order to deploy the devices, but in response to growing privacy concerns, the DOJ and DHS released new guidelines in recent months that upped the legal standard to a probable cause warrant.
It’s unclear if the same regulations govern the use of stingrays at the IRS—the agency didn’t comment for the report, nor did it reveal how it uses the technology.
Nate Wessler, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union told The Guardian, that its revelations show how extensively cell site simulation technology has proliferated.
“If the IRS is using it, it shows just how far these devices have spread,” he added.
