Judge rules for Trump on data
The web host must release to the government data from site used by protesters at the Trump inauguration.
WASHINGTON — A District of Columbia judge ruled Thursday that a Los Angeles-based web host provider must provide the government with digital data from a website widely used to help organize protests against President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January.
The ruling by District of Columbia Superior Court Chief Judge Robert Morin marked a win for the government, although Morin said he would supervise the government’s use of the data it collects from DreamHost.
Chris Ghazarian, general counsel for DreamHost, said the company needed to review the ruling before deciding whether to appeal. He said he was glad Morin acknowledged the company’s First Amendment concerns but said the warrant was still “problematic.”
“The mere fact that this information is being turned over to the government means the next time you’re sitting at home with your family thinking about visiting a website you’re going to second-guess yourself,” he said.
The Justice Department initially filed a search warrant in July to obtain data from DreamHost about the 1.3 million visits to disruptj20.org, a website associated with organizing demonstrations on Inauguration Day that resulted in about 200 arrests.
The government said it sought the data to gather evidence for prosecutions of those involved in violence. The case was filed in a local court because the rioters were charged under District of Columbia law.
DreamHost refused to turn over the data, arguing that the warrant was overly broad in scope and thus unconstitutional. It said the website had registered more than 1 million visits, including people who did not take part in violent protests.
The government amended its search warrant request Tuesday to omit the digital addresses of visitors to disruptj20.org, or any material that was written on the site but not posted online.
In a 90-minute hearing Thursday, Morin ruled that DreamHost must provide the government with all other data from disruptj20.org that it sought under the search warrant.
But Morin put restrictions on what feds could do with the material. He ruled that the government must disclose how it plans to review the data, identify those involved in the process and explain how it will avoid collecting protected information about “innocent visitors” to the site.
Morin also limited the scope of the search from when the website domain was created in October 2016 to Inauguration Day on Jan. 20. He also said the Justice Department cannot distribute or publicize the data it collects, including to any other government agency.
Under his order, the government can sift through the data and determine what applies to its investigation and what does not. It will keep material it finds appropriate and seal the rest in court.
The court ruled the company must turn over the information but the government cannot begin searching it until DreamHost decides if it plans to appeal.