According to a report, a certain Redditor is in the crosshairs of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and it’s now hitting the social media platform with a grand jury subpoena to reveal who they are. blocking. The non-profit news outlet was able to obtain a subpoena that ordered Reddit to provide information about one of its users who was accused of criticizing ICE by April 14.
According to the report, ICE has been trying to identify this Redditor for a month but has not been successful. More specifically, Reddit is being asked to give up a user’s name, address, phone number, and other personal data. blocking The report said the subpoena was issued by federal prosecutors in Washington, DC, after ICE’s failed attempt to do so through a federal court in Northern California, which has jurisdiction over San Francisco where Reddit is headquartered.
Reddit lawyers reportedly said their client’s posts and anonymity are protected under the First Amendment and described ICE’s use of the grand jury as “a disturbing escalation.” Reddit did not say whether it would challenge the government order. blockingBut it put out a statement saying, “Privacy is central to how Reddit works and we take our commitment to protecting it seriously.” Reddit also said in the statement that it “does not voluntarily share information with any government, especially not on users exercising their rights to criticize a government or plan a protest.”
Although this grand jury subpoena may set a worrying precedent, it is not the first time a government agency has requested social media platforms to disclose accounts that have spoken negatively about ICE. according to a new York Times According to the report, the Department of Homeland Security has again filed hundreds of subpoenas to Google, Discord, Meta and even Reddit to identify details about their users.
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