Trump administration orders Facebook to hand over private information on 'anti-administration activists' | The Independent

The Department of Justice has demanded Facebook turn over information about three anti-Trump activists, drawing a legal challenge from civil liberties advocates who say the government is overreaching by seeking vast amounts of personal information. 

Warrants issued by the US Attorney for the District of Columbia in February asked Facebook to detail the activities of three users who spearheaded mass protests of President Donald Trump’s inauguration, as well as information about the page they used to plan the demonstrations. More than 200 people were arrested as violence flared in otherwise peaceful gatherings.

Citing “evidence of rioting or intent to riot”, the sweeping requests ask Facebook to disclose all personal information of the organizers, including their passwords and physical addresses, as well as all activity associated with their accounts, any photos or videos they uploaded or any messages they sent. A separate warrant asks Facebook to reveal information about users who interacted with a page used to plan the protests.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has moved to block the warrants on behalf of the targeted activists, arguing in a filing that enforcing the warrants would “reach deeply into individuals’ private lives and protected associational and political activity”. 

 It warns that giving the government access to such broad repositories of data would stifle future speech.

“The enforcement of the warrants would chill future online communications of political activists and anyone who communicates with them, as they will learn from these searches that no Facebook privacy setting can protect them from government snooping on political and personal materials far removed from any proper law enforcement interest”, the filing warns.

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Activists from Greenpeace display a message reading "Mr President, walls divide. Build Bridges!" along the Berlin wall in Berlin on January 20, 2017 to coincide with the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United State

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An activist holds up a sign at the "We Stand United" rally on the eve of US President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration outside Trump International Hotel and Tower in New York on January 19, 2017 in New York

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Protesters burn a U.S. flag and a mock flag with pictures of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump outside the U.S. embassy in metro Manila, Philippines

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Filipino protestors hold placcards during a protest rally in front of the US embassy in Manila, Philippines, 20 January 2017. On the eve of President-elect Donald Trump's inaguration as the 45th president of the United States, Filipinos and Fil-Americans held a protest in front of the US embassy in Manila to denounce the incoming US president.

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Hong Kong police officers and security guards look on as an anarchist protester belonging to the Disrupt J20 movement sits after using a heavy duty D-lock and motorcycle lock to chain himself to a railing at the entrance gate to the Consulate General of the United States of America in Hong Kong to protest the inauguration of United States President-elect Donald Trump, Hong Kong, China, 20 January 2017. Two activists were arrested and taken away by Hong Kong police during the demonstration.

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A banner is unfurled on London's Tower Bridge, organised by Bridges Not Walls - a partnership between grassroots activists and campaigners working on a range of issues, formed in the wake of Donald Trump's election, which aims to build bridges to a world free from hatred and oppression.

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Protesters chain themselves to an entry point prior at the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in Washington, DC, U.S.

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Bridges Not Walls banner dropped from Molenbeek bridge in Brussels, Belgium, 20 January 2017, in an Greenpeace action part of protests Wolrd protest in solidarity with people in the US, the day Donald Trump sworn in as the 45th President of the United States.

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A woman holds an anti-U.S. President-elect Donald Trump placard during a rally in Tokyo, Japan,

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A Palestinian protester holds a placard during a demonstration against the construction of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and against US President-elect Donald Trump, on January 20, 2017, near the settlement of Maale Adumim, east of Jerusalem

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Banners on North Bridge in Edinburgh as part of the Bridges Not Walls protest against US President Donald Trump on the day of his inauguration

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Russian artist Vasily Slonov (L) and his assistant carry a life-sized cutout, which is an artwork created by Slonov and titled "Siberian Inauguration", before its presentation on the occasion of the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, in a street in Krasnoyarsk, Russia

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A woman holds a banner during a march to thank outgoing President Barack Obama and reject US President-elect Donald Trump before his inauguration at a park in Tokyo, Japan, 20 January 2017.

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Palestinian demonstrators protesting this week against a promise by Donald Trump to re-locate the US embassy to Jerusalem

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A spokesman for the US Attorney's office declined to comment. In a statement, Facebook backed the ACLU's efforts on behalf of the activists.

“We successfully fought in court to be able to notify the three people whose broad account information was requested by the government. We are grateful to the companies and civil society organizations that supported us in arguing for people’s ability to learn about and challenge overly broad search warrants“, a spokesperson said. 

Among the information that could be exposed, the ACLU's court filing argues, is information about conversations with friends and family members, “intimate messages” sent to romantic partners and “detailed discussions” of having endured domestic violence. One of the targeted activists said in a filing that the government would have access to information about her long history of unrelated political activity, including posts identifying others who participated in various marches and sit-ins. 

And the government’s dragnet could sweep up thousands of other people, the ACLU argues, citing the roughly 6,000 people who “liked” the disruptj20 page and others who said they would attend events sponsored by the page unrelated to the inauguration protest, including a “Queer Dance Party at Mike Pence’s House”.

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The unfolding legal battle marks the latest clash over the inauguration protests, with government demands for information running up against the privacy concerns of web users.

Earlier this year, the Department of Justice served online service provider DreamHost with a warrant seeking information about anyone who had visited a website used to organize anti-Trump protests. DreamHost challenged the request, and ultimately a judge compelled the company to turn over a scaled-down collection of data - an outcome DreamHost framed as a victory for its users.

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