DOJ seeks user identities from Reddit and X

The Justice Department has subpoenaed Reddit and X for the personal information of at least two users who posted anonymously about ICE, according to Bloomberg, in a move that raises fresh concerns about digital privacy and free speech.

The subpoenas were reportedly sent by Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia and a close ally of President Trump. They seek names, addresses and banking details for the users, both of whom learned about the government’s demands through the platforms themselves. That notice gave them only a short period to challenge the subpoenas in court before the companies would be required to hand over any information they have.

The documents did not specify which laws the posts were alleged to have violated.

The effort appears to extend a broader campaign to identify critics of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The New York Times reported in February that Homeland Security had already issued hundreds of administrative subpoenas to Google, Reddit, Discord and Meta in prior months as part of that push.

Lauren Regan, the lawyer representing the Reddit user, said the government first used an administrative summons, which does not point to a criminal investigation, before escalating to a grand jury subpoena. She called that sequence further evidence of a bad-faith attempt to unmask the user. Grand jury subpoenas are notoriously difficult to defeat, since recipients must show they are oppressive before a judge will set them aside.

Regan said her client’s posts were largely limited to an expletive-laced criticism of ICE. One post she believes drew attention referenced the ICE officer who killed Renee Good in Minnesota and where the officer lived.

Joshua Koltun, who represents the X user, said his client made a sarcastic post about donating to the ICE officer who shot Good, along with an address that was already publicly available. He said the message showed no sign that violence was intended. In his client’s case as well, Homeland Security withdrew an earlier administrative summons before the DOJ reissued the demand as a grand jury subpoena.

The subpoenas come after earlier government pressure on apps and groups tied to anti-ICE activity, including ICEBlock, which was later removed from the App Store and Google Play after officials pushed for its takedown.

Sources:

engadget.com