Trump admin loses fight to spy on random journalists’ LinkedIn DMs
Summary
A unanimous federal appeals court ruled that the Justice Department’s request for LinkedIn communications in a military-leak investigation was too broad and could sweep in journalists and sources with no clear connection to the case. The court sent the order back to a district court to narrow it and reconsider the First Amendment concerns, while rejecting LinkedIn’s request to cancel it entirely.Key Facts
- The Justice Department sought 18 months of LinkedIn communications from a group of journalists.
- The journalists had collectively published more than 1,000 articles on various subjects during that period.
- The request included journalists who might have had a link to reporters involved in a report about confidential military information.
- The appeals court said many users covered by the request had no clear connection to the leak investigation.
- The court said the district court erred by treating the request’s logistical feasibility as sufficient reason to approve it.
- The Justice Department obtained a secrecy order that prevented LinkedIn from notifying anyone about the request for one year.
- The appeals court directed the district court to assess how to narrow the order and consider a limited alternative to the secrecy requirement.
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