The Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, has been making waves in the online space, but not in the usual way. The DHS, and more specifically its investigative and controversial group Immigrations Customs and Enforcement, also known as ICE, have been serving subpoenas to many online social media platforms such as Google, Reddit and Meta, the rebrand of Facebook. The information that the DHS has been requesting has left a massive number of people online feeling very nervous about how the companies will handle their requests. The DHS has been requesting personal information, such as their real names, email addresses and phone numbers.
Many online news sites such as Military.com and aclupa.org have also been writing about the recent call for revealing personal information, and the information given through them helps get a clearer picture of what the DHS is asking for. Military.com, a news site that posts about United States news and national security, did an interview with Greg Nojeim, a senior counsel at the Center for Democracy and Technology. He gave his views on these subpoenas, stating, “ICE is apparently using them to silence people who speak out.” This might seem like an exaggeration, but the sheer number of subpoenas given out, a number in the hundreds, gives credibility to his views.
The ACLU, or American Civil Liberties Union, has also posted articles in response to the demands for personal information. Their most recent article is about what to do when someone loses their platform or gets silenced online. They stated, “The freedom to openly criticize the government without penalty or punishment is the keystone of our democracy.” The first amendment of the United States clearly prohibits actions taken by the government to silence the speech of citizens and the press. Many users online have expressed that they are in fear of the DHS taking the private information of users, with the ACLU also writing that, “it’s intimidation dressed up as law.” Reddit user king_hutton left a comment on a New York Times article, saying, “this should be terrifying for anyone who believes in free speech and liberty.”
The public outcry is only part of the puzzle, however, as the social media conglomerates themselves also have given statements on all the subpoenas going around. One statement from a Google spokesperson gives a bit of clarity on the matter: “We inform users when their accounts have been subpoenaed, unless under legal order not to or in an exceptional circumstance. We review every legal demand and push back against those that are overbroad.” Of all the companies listed, Google, Reddit and Meta have complied with some requests to release information from certain users. ACLU has helped some users combat the subpoenas by challenging them in court, and in response, DHS has recalled the subpoena for them. By responding like this, the DHS shows a clear goal of intimidation without follow-through, as further stated by the Electronic Frontier Foundation: “These subpoenas are unlawful, and the government knows it.” It should be noted that these subpoenas are signed by agents, not judges. Recipients need only to comply if it is signed by a judge, otherwise, do not give up information without consulting a lawyer.