Recently, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed legal complaints against Google. The complaints accuse Google of deceptive trade practices for breaking its own policies after it handed a user’s data to US authorities without notifying them. The tech giant claims that there are certain exceptions where it will not notify the user first. Now the EFF has shared its own response to Google’s statement.
The situation stems from a subpoena submitted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The federal agency requested the user data of Amandla Thomas-Johnson, a foreign PhD student who is said to have attended a pro-Palestine protest at Cornell University. Google’s policies state that it will generally notify users of a request before handing over any data to the government. However, the student claims that Google did not notify them first before handing over the data.
In a statement sent to Android Authority, a Google spokesperson said:
All subpoenas undergo a review process designed to protect user privacy while meeting our legal obligations. We inform users when their accounts have been subpoenaed, unless under legal order not to or in an exceptional circumstance. We push back against those that are overbroad, including objecting to some entirely.
Although there are some exceptions where Google won’t notify a user before handing their data over, F. Mario Trujillo, Senior Staff Attorney at EFF, claims that these exceptions don’t apply to this situation. Trujilo tells Android Authority:
The subpoena targeting Amandla did not fit any of Google’s exceptions. Google screwed up, and it needs to own its mistakes. There was no gag order, Amandla’s personal account was targeted, the investigation did not involve child safety or threats to life, and his account was not hijacked.
Android Authority asked the Google spokesperson if they could clarify which exception the company believes this case falls into. We have not yet heard back from the spokesperson.
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Frequently Asked Questions
The EFF accuses Google of deceptive trade practices for handing a user's data to US authorities without notifying them first, which the EFF says broke Google's own policies.
Google gave the user data of Amandla Thomas-Johnson, a foreign PhD student, to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). She reportedly attended a pro-Palestine protest at Cornell University.
Google says it informs users when their accounts have been subpoenaed unless under legal order not to or in an exceptional circumstance, and that all subpoenas go through a review process designed to protect user privacy.
EFF senior staff attorney F. Mario Trujillo says the subpoena did not fit any of Google's exceptions: there was no gag order, the personal account was targeted, and the investigation did not involve child safety, threats to life, or a hijacked account.
