Letter to Google on “Geofence” and “Keyword Warrants"

The NYCLU sent a letter along with other civil rights, labor, and civil society organizations, calling on Google to aid in opposing the alarming growth in law enforcement searches of Google user data. While law enforcement agencies have sought Google account data for years, there have been increasing reports of novel warrants and other court orders that demand far more data than in the past. 

This includes the use of so-called “geofence warrants,” which compel disclosure of all devices in a geofenced area, and so-called “keyword warrants,” which identify every user who searched for a specific keyword, phrase, or address. These blanket warrants circumvent constitutional checks on police surveillance, creating a virtual dragnet of our religious practices, political affiliations, sexual orientation, and more.