NCAC is one of over 60 public interest organizations expressing strong concern at the Department of Justice’s decision to order web service provider DreamHost to turn over records of users who visited a protest-organizing site.
The request is part of a criminal investigation into crimes alleged to have been committed during anti-Trump protests in Washington on Inauguration Day, January 20. The investigation has significant free speech implications.
Last week, a D.C. Superior Court ordered DreamHost to turn over to the Justice Department records of users to the site, which includes the IP addresses of over 1.3 million people.
In the letter to the Attorney General, we condemned the Department’s overbroad reach and expressed alarm over DOJ investigative tactics that offend the rights of all individuals to political dissent and free assembly, without the threat of surveillance.
After DreamHost filed suit to protect the privacy of its records, the Justice Department agreed to narrow its subpoena to apply to fewer records. To provide additional privacy protections, the judge hearing the case will supervise the use of the records. The company has not decided whether it will appeal the decision.
Read the letter below; click here for a full screen view.