Kristi Noem is turning up the heat on major social media platforms, pressing them to reveal the identities of Americans critical of ICE agents. According to a report from the New York Times, the Department of Homeland Security has issued hundreds of subpoenas to Silicon Valley’s tech giants, demanding personal information such as names, email addresses, and phone numbers of users linked to anti-ICE activities. Among those receiving these subpoenas are Google, Meta, Reddit, X, and Discord. All, except Discord, have reportedly begun to comply with some of these requests.
Homeland Security Subpoenas Anonymous Accounts
The Department of Homeland Security has specifically targeted accounts that criticize immigration agents and disclose their locations, seeking to identify those users who do not use their real names. A Google representative explained to the Times that their review process is structured to safeguard user privacy while fulfilling legal obligations. Google also noted that it informs users when their accounts are subpoenaed, unless legally barred from doing so. “We review every legal demand and push back against those that are overbroad,” the spokesperson emphasized.
While technology firms are not legally required to adhere to these requests, they do have the option to share user information. Some companies have taken the step of notifying users whose data was flagged, allowing them around two weeks to challenge the subpoena in court. When questioned about these actions, the Department of Homeland Security declined to provide specific answers but justified their actions by referring to their “broad administrative subpoena authority.”
DHS Defends Data Grab as Safety Measure
Attorneys for Homeland Security argued in court that the user information is needed to keep ICE agents safe as they complete deportations. Civil liberties attorneys claim Noem’s latest decision to gather the data of her critics violates years of legal precedent and free speech. ‘The government is taking more liberties than they used to,’ Steve Loney, an attorney representing users whose social media account was subpoenaed by the DHS, told the Times. ‘It’s a whole other level of frequency and lack of accountability.’
Loney’s legal organization, the American Civil Liberties Union, has previously challenged a government subpoena in court. Immigration agents have warned ICE-protesters in Minneapolis and Chicago that they were being recorded and identified by the agency.
