Google Ordered To Hand Over Sensitive Data On Users Who Viewed Publicly Available YouTube Video
Google Ordered To Hand Over Sensitive Data On Users Who Viewed Publicly Available YouTube Video
Civil rights group STOP "condemns the U.S. Department of Justice for securing a bulk warrant to track every YouTube user who watched completely legal videos about mapping software".
UNITED STATES - According to unsealed court documents, the U.S. Department of Justice acquired a bulk warrant in order to order Google to hand over the personal information of users who watched specific YouTube videos between January 1st and January 8th, 2023, in what is being called an unconstitutional "digital dragnet".
Information that the Department of Justice ordered Google to hand over included:
User's Account/Viewing Activity
Telephone Numbers
Home Addresses
IP Addresses
Names
Investigation That Led To The Demand:
An investigation into a user with the handle of “elonmuskwhm” suspected of being involved in money laundering activities which included trading in Bitcoin for another currency led to U.S. agents sending the suspect publicly available YouTube tutorials on mapping with drones using augmented reality software.
The videos in question were never mentioned by name in any of the reports, the only information given about them was that they had to do with mapping with drones using augmented reality software.
The federal authorities then requested data on the users who had viewed the videos, which had been watched by that time around 30,000 times by various people. One live-stream alone had about 130,000 subscribers.
According to documents that were reportedly seen by Forbes, the order was granted by the court but requested that Google not release the information to the public.
It is not currently known whether Google complied with the information request, but Google spokesperson Matt Bryant spoke to Forbes and said that Google routinely pushes back against "over broad" and "inappropriate demands" for user data.
“We examine each demand for legal validity, consistent with developing case law, and we routinely push back against over broad or otherwise inappropriate demands for user data, including objecting to some demands entirely," the Google spokesperson said.
Privacy and civil rights group Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.) strongly condemned the request for user information on a video that is "completely legal"
The civil rights group said that STOP "condemns the U.S. Department of Justice for securing a bulk warrant to track every YouTube user who watched completely legal videos about mapping software".
"searching thousands of innocent people to look for one suspect violated the Fourth Amendment," according to STOP.
