An investigation published by independent outlet 404 Media on September 8 revealed that, in the United States, border police teams designated Predictive Intelligence Targeting Teams (PITT) analyze databases containing citizens' financial information to identify drivers considered suspicious and relay this information to local law enforcement.
One of the documented cases involves Kyle Olson, stopped in Montana in May. An analyst identified financial patterns associated with drug trafficking and consulted Olson's police record, with state police invoking an obstructed license plate to justify the stop. Olson was ultimately charged with driving under the influence and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. The analyst noted that the information relayed did not, in itself, constitute grounds for the stop.
This practice may approximate the so-called "parallel construction," which consists of starting from information from confidential sources and obtaining evidence through another route, without revealing the initial source of the investigation. The Supreme Court, in the case Whren v. United States in 1996, ruled that a traffic stop may be valid when there is objective grounds to believe a violation was committed, even if the officers had another motivation. Access to financial data is regulated by the Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978, although the specific legal basis for such access remains unclear.
In Portugal, the situation is different. Banking secrecy, provided for in the General Regime for Credit Institutions and Financial Companies, protects banking transactions, and access to financial data is subject to specific rules. Law 59/2019 regulates the processing of personal data by authorities, prohibiting exclusively automated decisions that significantly affect the individual. Law 5/2002 allows access to banking information in cases of serious crimes, through a reasoned order from a judicial authority. A system of generalized access to banking transactions to search for suspicious patterns and select drivers, without legal basis and safeguards, would be incompatible with these limitations.
