Overview
- New reporting says DHS recently issued hundreds of administrative subpoenas to Google, Meta, Reddit, and Discord for names, emails, phone numbers, and other identifiers tied to accounts that criticized ICE or posted agent locations.
- Google, Meta, and Reddit complied with some requests, while several companies notified affected users and gave 10–14 days to challenge the demands in court.
- In a Montgomery County, Pennsylvania case, Meta alerted ICE-tracking accounts in October; after the ACLU moved to quash, the government withdrew the subpoena in January before a judge ruled.
- DHS maintains it has broad subpoena authority, and a DOJ lawyer argued the requests aim to address threats to or impediments against ICE officers.
- Administrative subpoenas come without prior judicial approval and were once used sparingly for serious crimes, a shift that has intensified scrutiny of company practices and calls for stronger oversight.