Free Republic

A federal judge in California ordered Google to comply with an FBI national security investigation after the search giant launched a protest against the bureau’s request. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston rejected Google’s petition to modify or throw out 19 national security letters (NSL) related to federal government investigations due to the broad nature of the petition, CNET reported Friday. “Her ruling came after a pair of top FBI officials, including an assistant director, submitted classified affidavits,” CNET reported, stating that Illston reserved judgement on two of the 19 letters and requested more information from the government. NSLs allow federal...

A new lawsuit in Manhattan pitting the U.S. Department of Justice against Google offers a rare glimpse of how determined prosecutors are to defend a process that allows federal agents to gain warrantless access to user records, and how committed the Mountain View, Calif., company is to defending its customers' privacy rights against what it views as illegal requests. The Justice Department's lawsuit, filed April 22 and not disclosed until this article, was sparked by Google's decision to rebuff the FBI's legal demands for confidential user data. It centers on the bureau's controversial use of so-called National Security Letters (NSL),...

A federal judge has ruled that Google must comply with the FBI's warrantless requests for confidential user data, despite the search company's arguments that the secret demands are illegal.