What's this about?
A Guardian investigation reporting that DHS has been using a rarely-invoked statutory summons power to obtain records on journalists, non-profits and unions.
Why is an administrative summons different from a warrant?
A warrant requires a judge to agree there is probable cause before it issues. An administrative summons is issued by the agency itself, typically with no prior judicial review, and is usually served on a third party who holds your records — a bank, a phone company, a platform. So the person whose records are taken often does not know, has no opportunity to object, and the court only becomes involved if the recipient chooses to fight, which most do not. The power's obscurity is part of what makes it effective.
Why is it worth noticing?
HN 440 points, 106 comments
- High score with a comparatively low comment count — agreement that this is bad, less to argue about.
- Journalists, non-profits and unions is a specific list, and the pattern is what the reporting is about rather than any individual summons.
- Read next to the EU encryption story: two different governments, the same week, both expanding access to data by mechanisms that avoid the usual checks.