US Senate Seeks to End Abuse of Customs Law by DHS
Senator Ron Wyden has sent a strongly-worded letter to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem, urging her to stop using customs law to unmask social media accounts tracking immigration agents. The move is in response to recent efforts by the Trump administration to compel Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, to disclose the identity of MontCo Community Watch, an account that tracks ICE agents' activities.
This latest development marks the third time in as many years that federal authorities have invoked customs law to obtain records unrelated to the enforcement of customs duties. In 2017, The Intercept reported on a similar attempt by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to unmask a Twitter user critical of President Donald Trump's policies.
The CBP had initially claimed it needed the account's identity to investigate potential crimes committed by CBP officials, but an internal investigation found that the real purpose was unrelated to customs duties. The government ultimately rescinded its summons and implemented reforms to prevent similar abuses in the future.
However, the Department of Homeland Security appears to be disregarding these findings and continuing to use its authority to target dissenting voices. Senator Wyden's letter demands that DHS cease this practice, citing a lack of "legal sufficiency" and an apparent attempt to chill criticism of Trump administration policies.
The move is part of a broader pattern of erosion of civil liberties under the current administration. Critics argue that the government's actions are akin to those of authoritarian regimes, where dissenting voices are silenced and opposition is crushed.
As The Intercept notes, "We're seeing a full-on authoritarian takeover of the U.S. government." The newspaper has long highlighted the dangers of unchecked power and the importance of press freedom in defending democracy.
Senator Ron Wyden has sent a strongly-worded letter to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem, urging her to stop using customs law to unmask social media accounts tracking immigration agents. The move is in response to recent efforts by the Trump administration to compel Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, to disclose the identity of MontCo Community Watch, an account that tracks ICE agents' activities.
This latest development marks the third time in as many years that federal authorities have invoked customs law to obtain records unrelated to the enforcement of customs duties. In 2017, The Intercept reported on a similar attempt by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to unmask a Twitter user critical of President Donald Trump's policies.
The CBP had initially claimed it needed the account's identity to investigate potential crimes committed by CBP officials, but an internal investigation found that the real purpose was unrelated to customs duties. The government ultimately rescinded its summons and implemented reforms to prevent similar abuses in the future.
However, the Department of Homeland Security appears to be disregarding these findings and continuing to use its authority to target dissenting voices. Senator Wyden's letter demands that DHS cease this practice, citing a lack of "legal sufficiency" and an apparent attempt to chill criticism of Trump administration policies.
The move is part of a broader pattern of erosion of civil liberties under the current administration. Critics argue that the government's actions are akin to those of authoritarian regimes, where dissenting voices are silenced and opposition is crushed.
As The Intercept notes, "We're seeing a full-on authoritarian takeover of the U.S. government." The newspaper has long highlighted the dangers of unchecked power and the importance of press freedom in defending democracy.
I'm not buying it. Why did this take so long to happen? Like, what's next? Asking Meta to give up our email passwords too? 
This is just a bunch of lip service. The fact that they're using customs law to silence critics is super suspicious. What's the real motive here? Is it really about protecting national security or is it just about silencing opposition? 
We need more than just a strongly-worded letter from Senator Wyden to fix this problem. I want to see concrete changes and accountability for those responsible. 
Can someone please get me some sources on this? 
. Like, who gets to decide what's okay to track and what's not? It's already crazy enough that they're targeting ICE agents' accounts, but now it's like they think they can just use customs law as a backdoor to silence dissenting voices 
. I mean, isn't the whole point of having a free press to be able to criticize whoever is in power? 
And to see them ignoring all those reforms from 2017 and just doing what they want... it's like they're trying to set a new standard for authoritarianism 
. This is getting out of hand, folks. We need to keep pushing back on this stuff 
. First off, customs law is meant for, you know, dealing with actual customs stuff - not snoopin' on people's social media accounts or harassing dissidents online 
. I mean, can't our leaders learn from their mistakes? It feels like they're just trying to stifle free speech and dissenting voices, which is basically a recipe for disaster 
.
. I'm not buying that "it's all about national security" nonsense 
DHS, stop using your power to silence ppl 
! This is getting super scary 
and it's not okay 
. We need more transparency 
and less drama 
. I mean, can't we just let ppl express themselves freely 
? It's like, basic human rights 
. And btw, this Trump admin is totally out of control 
and it's not cool 
! 
. This suggests that most people think it's a good idea for governments to access social media accounts when they're tracking immigration agents or other public figures.
. It's alarming to see how quickly we're moving away from democratic values... 
! Like, shouldn't we be able to express our opinions online without being monitored like we're some kind of suspects? 
. And what about all the other times it's happened and nothing came of it? Does that just become this new normal or something? 
I guess we'll have to wait and see if Senator Wyden can make a difference 
.
I mean, I get it, people gotta be held accountable for their actions, but using customs law to silence dissenting voices? That's just not right 
No way! We need to be able to speak out against what we don't agree with, even if it's uncomfortable 
.
? That's some serious Orwellian stuff, fam 
. We need politicians who are willing to listen to and engage with critics, not try to silence them 
and we need more transparency about what's really going on behind the scenes, meta needs to push back harder too 
. Can't let them just sweep this under the rug 
. We gotta stand together for press freedom and civil liberties 
This is getting outta hand! 
and we're all just chillin' while our civil liberties are slowly being erased 
#JusticeForFreeSpeech #EndAbuseOfPower #CivilLibertiesMatter