The Department of Homeland Security has been stepping up efforts to force tech companies to unmask the owners of social media accounts criticizing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as reported by The New York Times.
This development aligns with previous reports from Bloomberg, which highlighted five instances where Homeland Security attempted to identify those behind anonymous Instagram accounts, only to withdraw its subpoenas after legal action from the account owners. Furthermore, a piece by the Washington Post noted that the agency is increasingly utilizing administrative subpoenas—tools that don’t require judicial approval—to target American citizens.
The NYT now indicates that a practice once used infrequently has recently gained traction, with the department dispatching hundreds of these subpoenas to companies like Google, Reddit, Discord, and Meta. These subpoenas seem aimed at accounts lacking real names, especially those criticizing ICE or mentioning the whereabouts of ICE agents.
Sources suggest that Google, Meta, and Reddit have complied with these requests in various instances. Consistent with earlier statements, Google mentioned that it tries to notify users about these subpoenas whenever possible and is proactive in resisting subpoenas that are deemed “overbroad.”
