Senator Ron Wyden has slammed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for using customs law to reveal the identities of social media accounts tracking the activity of ICE agents. In a letter, Wyden demands that DHS cease its "manifestly improper use" of this authority, arguing that it is being abused to repress First Amendment-protected speech.
The controversy centers on two recent efforts by the Trump administration to unmask Instagram and Facebook accounts monitoring immigration agents in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The first attempt was made last year, when Customs and Border Protection (CBP) used its legal authority to reveal the identity of a Twitter account critical of President Donald Trump. Following public outcry, CBP rescinded its summons and launched an internal investigation.
A subsequent report by the DHS Office of Inspector General found that CBP had initially claimed it needed the account's identity to investigate "possible criminal violations" by CBP officials, including murder, theft, and corruption. However, the OIG concluded that this was unrelated to the importation of merchandise or customs duties, suggesting that CBP may have exceeded its authority.
This summer, CBP attempted again to unmask an Instagram account sharing First Amendment-protected imagery of ICE agents in public. The subpoena invoked law "relating to the privilege of any person to enter, reenter, reside in, or pass through the United States," even though it was issued pertaining to "officer safety" rather than immigration enforcement.
Wyden's letter notes that this is not an isolated incident and that CBP has a history of improperly using its summons authority to obtain records unrelated to import of merchandise or customs duties. The senator calls on Noem to rescind the unlawful summonses and ensure that DHS complies with statutory limitations on the use of customs law.
The Intercept reported that Meta, Facebook's parent company, was temporarily blocked from disclosing user data in response to a federal judge's ruling against the summons.
The controversy centers on two recent efforts by the Trump administration to unmask Instagram and Facebook accounts monitoring immigration agents in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The first attempt was made last year, when Customs and Border Protection (CBP) used its legal authority to reveal the identity of a Twitter account critical of President Donald Trump. Following public outcry, CBP rescinded its summons and launched an internal investigation.
A subsequent report by the DHS Office of Inspector General found that CBP had initially claimed it needed the account's identity to investigate "possible criminal violations" by CBP officials, including murder, theft, and corruption. However, the OIG concluded that this was unrelated to the importation of merchandise or customs duties, suggesting that CBP may have exceeded its authority.
This summer, CBP attempted again to unmask an Instagram account sharing First Amendment-protected imagery of ICE agents in public. The subpoena invoked law "relating to the privilege of any person to enter, reenter, reside in, or pass through the United States," even though it was issued pertaining to "officer safety" rather than immigration enforcement.
Wyden's letter notes that this is not an isolated incident and that CBP has a history of improperly using its summons authority to obtain records unrelated to import of merchandise or customs duties. The senator calls on Noem to rescind the unlawful summonses and ensure that DHS complies with statutory limitations on the use of customs law.
The Intercept reported that Meta, Facebook's parent company, was temporarily blocked from disclosing user data in response to a federal judge's ruling against the summons.
this is like totally huge! 
The government needs to be held accountable for its actions, you know? 
I mean, CBP's trying to get people's social media accounts and it's just not right 
. It's all about freedom of speech, people! 
First Amendment is like, super important 
and we shouldn't let anyone mess with that 
. Wyden's got this 
and I'm so proud of him for standing up for what's right 
. We need more people like him to keep the government in check 
i mean i get it we gotta be safe but there gotta be a balance, right? 
and honestly i'm kinda worried about the first amendment and if ppl are gonna get silenced because they're speaking out against injustice or whatever. anywayz i hope wyden gets some action on this ASAP 
So, apparently, CBP claimed they needed the Twitter account's identity to investigate "criminal violations" by their own officials? That sounds like a pretty weak excuse to me 
. And what's up with them trying to unmask an Instagram account sharing images of ICE agents in public? That's just chillin' with free speech 
. It's not like they're trying to protect national security or anything (although, let's be real, sometimes it feels that way 
).
. I'm glad Wyden spoke up and called out Noem for this, but at the same time, it feels like more of the same old politics and bureaucracy 
. The whole thing reeks of Trump's legacy of suppressing dissenting voices 
. Mark my words, this is gonna lead to some major pushback from the public and possibly even some Congressional action 
. I'm surprised Meta got blocked from sharing user data, that's some serious First Amendment action 
. Noem needs to get her act together and stop playing hardball with free speech 
.
. If DHS is really concerned about officer safety, why do they need to know who's sharing some First Amendment-protected pics of ICE agents? It seems like a pretty clear case of overreach to me 
.
The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced there's some sort of hidden agenda goin' on here 
this is getting outta hand 
like, isn't that just basic freedom of speech? 
if senator wyden is talking out against this, i'm all for it! 
. And now Meta's got to hide user data because of this BS 
. It's like, we're living in some kind of sci-fi movie or something 
? Give me a break! 
