The government orders show an "unconstitutional" overreach by the
  government, multiple privacy experts said.
  AFP via Getty Images

  Federal investigators have ordered Google to provide information on all
  viewers of select YouTube videos, according to multiple court orders
  obtained by Forbes. Privacy experts from multiple civil rights groups
  told Forbes they think the orders are unconstitutional because they
  threaten to turn innocent YouTube viewers into criminal suspects.

  In a just-unsealed case from Kentucky reviewed by Forbes, undercover
  cops sought to identify the individual behind the online moniker
  “elonmuskwhm,” who they suspect of selling bitcoin for cash,
  potentially running afoul of money laundering laws and rules around
  unlicensed money transmitting.

  In conversations with the user in early January, undercover agents sent
  links of YouTube tutorials for mapping via drones and augmented reality
  software, then asked Google for information on who had viewed the
  videos, which collectively have been watched over 30,000 times.

  The court orders show the government telling Google to provide the
  names, addresses, telephone numbers and user activity for all Google
  account users who accessed the YouTube videos between January 1 and
  January 8, 2023. The government also wanted the IP addresses of
  non-Google account owners who viewed the videos. The cops argued,
  “There is reason to believe that these records would be relevant and
  material to an ongoing criminal investigation, including by providing
  identification information about the perpetrators.”

    “No one should fear a knock at the door from police simply because
    of what the YouTube algorithm serves up.”

  The court granted the order and Google was told to keep the request
  secret until it was unsealed earlier this week, when it was obtained by
  Forbes. The court records do not show whether or not Google provided
  data in the case.

  In another example, involving an investigation in New Hampshire, the
  Portsmouth Police received a threat from an unknown male that an
  explosive had been placed in a trashcan in a public area. The order
  says that after the police searched the area, they learned they were
  being watched over a YouTube live stream camera associated with a local
  business. Federal investigators believe similar events have happened
  across the U.S., where bomb threats were made and cops watched via
  YouTube.

  They asked Google to provide a list of accounts that “viewed and/or
  interacted with” eight YouTube live streams and the associated
  identifying information during specific timeframes. That included a
  video posted by Boston and Maine Live, which has 130,000 subscribers.
  Mike McCormack, who set up the company behind the account, IP Time
  Lapse, said he knew about the order, adding that they related "to
  swatting incidents directed at the camera views at that time."

  Again, it’s unclear whether Google provided the data.

  "With all law enforcement demands, we have a rigorous process designed
  to protect the privacy and constitutional rights of our users while
  supporting the important work of law enforcement,” said Google
  spokesperson Matt Bryant. “We examine each demand for legal validity,
  consistent with developing case law, and we routinely push back against
  overbroad or otherwise inappropriate demands for user data, including
  objecting to some demands entirely."

  The Justice Department had not responded to requests for comment at the
  time of publication.

  Privacy experts said the orders were unconstitutional because they
  threatened to undo protections in the 1st and 4th Amendments covering
  free speech and freedom from unreasonable searches. “This is the latest
  chapter in a disturbing trend where we see government agencies
  increasingly transforming search warrants into digital dragnets. It’s
  unconstitutional, it’s terrifying and it’s happening every day,” said
  Albert Fox-Cahn, executive director at the Surveillance Technology
  Oversight Project. “No one should fear a knock at the door from police
  simply because of what the YouTube algorithm serves up. I’m horrified
  that the courts are allowing this.”

  He said the orders were “just as chilling” as geofence warrants, where
  Google has been ordered to provide data on all users in the vicinity of
  a crime. Google announced [1]an update in December that will make it
  technically impossible for the tech giant to provide information in
  response to geofence orders. Prior to that, a California court had
  [2]ruled that a geofence warrant covering several densely-populated
  areas in Los Angeles was unconstitutional, leading to hopes the courts
  would stop police seeking the data.

  “What we watch online can reveal deeply sensitive information about
  us—our politics, our passions, our religious beliefs, and much more,”
  said John Davisson, senior counsel at the Electronic Privacy
  Information Center. “It's fair to expect that law enforcement won't
  have access to that information without probable cause. This order
  turns that assumption on its head.”

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  Follow me on [7]Twitter. Check out my [8]website. Send me a secure
  [9]tip.

References

  1. https://www.forbes.com/sites/cyrusfarivar/2023/12/14/google-just-killed-geofence-warrants-police-location-data/
  2. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/04/first-us-appellate-court-decide-finds-geofence-warrant-unconstitutional
  3. https://www.forbes.com/sites/cyrusfarivar/2023/12/14/google-just-killed-geofence-warrants-police-location-data/
  4. https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2024/02/27/flock-safety-surveillance-broke-state-law/
  5. https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2024/03/19/experian-tries-to-force-whatsapp-to-hand-over-user-data/
  6. https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2024/02/23/att-t-mobile-geofence-orders/
  7. https://www.twitter.com/iblametom
  8. https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/
  9. https://www.forbes.com/tips/