LEGAL/PROTESTS: “A judge in DC handed federal prosecutors a win Thursday [8-24-17] in their ongoing fight over data connected to a website used to organize Inauguration Day protests against the Trump administration.
Although web-hosting provider Dreamhost is not required to turn over millions of IP addresses for mere visitors who clicked on the disruptj20.org website, Chief Judge Robert Morin of the DC Superior Court largely granted prosecutors’ request to collect a wide-ranging set of records from the company, which will now include emails for users who signed up for an account associated with the website, organizers’ membership lists and emails of third parties who sent messages to disruptj20.org account users, among other information.
The dispute between Dreamhost and federal authorities has been ongoing for weeks, as the company has pushed back against the requests as overbroad and potentially chilling to free speech rights. On Tuesday, the US Attorney’s office in DC proposed a revised search warrant to the court, emphasizing that it is only focused on potential criminal acts associated with the protests, ‘not their political views — and certainly not the lawful activities of peaceful protests.’
After an hourlong hearing Thursday, Morin said he was mindful that the data of ‘innocent users’ could be swept up in the government’s search and added several additional safeguards that prosecutors must comply with to ‘balance First Amendment protections and (prosecutors’) need for the information.’ “
-Laura Jarrett, “Judge green-lights feds’ request for Trump protesters’ data,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, Aug. 24, 2017 01:47pm