The Department of Homeland Security is increasing pressure on tech companies to identify owners of social media accounts that criticize Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to the New York Times.
This is consistent with other recent reporting, with Bloomberg pointing to five cases in which the Department of Homeland Security tried to identify the owners of anonymous Instagram accounts, only for the department to drop the subpoenas after the owners sued. A Washington Post article also reported that the Department of Homeland Security is expanding its use of administrative subpoenas, which do not require judge approval, to target Americans.
The New York Times notes that the previously modest practice has become increasingly common in recent months, with the bureau sending hundreds of subpoenas to Google, Reddit, Discord, and Meta. The subpoenas reportedly did not have real names attached and focused on accounts that criticized ICE or described the locations of ICE agents.
Google, Meta, and Reddit are reported to be compliant in at least some cases. Following past comments, Google said it will notify users of these subpoenas where possible and will reject subpoenas if they are “over the top.”