By Ananya Swaroop
Boston University News Service
In an extended attempt to nab anti-ICE entities, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is now asking major tech companies to reveal the identities of accounts that criticize the Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The department is sending legal requests to companies, including Google, Reddit, Discord and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, to share details about the concerned accounts.
DHS is seeking information such as names, email addresses, IP logs, telephone numbers and other related metadata that would help them in identifying the individuals behind the accounts. Government officials and tech employees told The New York Times that these tech companies have already received numerous administrative subpoenas from the Department of Homeland Security. Meta, Google and Reddit have complied with some of the requests.
Through these legal searches, the DHS aims to investigate threats and protect federal employees, especially ICE agents who have faced harassment and doxxing online. The subpoenas emerge alongside other measures that the Trump administration has taken to bring down its critics.
ICE became the focal point of online activism after broader debates over immigration enforcement, detention conditions and deportation practices started floating online. Anonymous accounts on social media played a key role in organizing demonstrations, sharing information about ICE operations and amplifying criticism of the agency. Advocates argue that it is essential that these accounts remain anonymous to protect activists, immigrants, and whistleblowers from retaliation. However, the tech companies might act otherwise.
After the tech companies receive the subpoenas, they can choose whether to provide the information or not. These companies review government requests before complying, according to The New York Times. Many companies have already shared personal information of the people behind these anonymous accounts and alerted them about the subpoenas. The people get approximately two weeks to fight the subpoenas in court.
Steve Loney, a senior supervising attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, has represented many such people in the last six months. Talking to The New York Times, Loney said, “It’s a whole other level of frequency and lack of accountability.”
DHS has defended the subpoenas as lawful and narrowly tailored by saying that it had “broad administrative subpoena authority.” The agency emphasizes that administrative subpoenas are a standard investigative tool that allow it to seek information without prior judicial approval. Its lawyers have argued in the courts that DHS will use the information to keep ICE agents safe in the field.
A Google spokeswoman responded to this administrative move. “When we receive a subpoena, our review process is designed to protect user privacy while meeting our legal obligations,” she said in a statement. “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.”
While this controversy comes amid heightened scrutiny of the relationship between government agencies and tech platforms, this is not the first time that social media companies have been at a disadvantage. In 2017, X (previously called Twitter) was served subpoenas to share details of an account critical of the first Trump administration. The request was withdrawn when X sued the federal government.
Last year, the Department of Homeland Security sought information about the social media accounts that are active in Philadelphia and the Instagram accounts that shared information about ICE raids in California. An account called Montco Community Watch posted about an ICE sighting in June and shared tips from their followers to inform people about ICE activities. Meta complied with DHS’ request to share their information and informed the account holders of the request. Montco Community Watch filed a motion in October to quash the government’s request. The subpoena was withdrawn and Montco Community Watch continues to post on its accounts.
The attempt to unmask anti-ICE accounts underscores the tension between national security, law enforcement and people’s right to free expression in the digital age. In cities including Minneapolis and Chicago, ICE agents warned protesters that they were being recorded and identified, indicating that everyone is under their watch. But will these attempts affect anti-ICE activists – that’s something only time will tell.
