Google sent the student reporter’s personal and financial information to ICE

Google provided personal information about the student and reporter to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in response to a subpoena that was not approved by a judge, according to a report by The Intercept.

A search and marketing expert provided ICE with usernames, addresses, and a list of properties associated with the Google account of Amandla Thomas-Johnson, a British student and journalist who briefly participated in the Palestinian protests in 2024 while attending Cornell University in New York.

Google also provided Thomas-Johnson’s IP addresses, phone numbers, registration numbers and notifications, as well as credit card and bank account numbers linked to his account.

The subpoena, which reportedly included a gag order, did not include a reason why ICE was requesting information about Thomas-Johnson, but the student. he said earlier that the need for his data came within two hours of Cornell notifying him that the US government had revoked his student visa.

This is the latest example of how the US government is using a difficult legal request, called an administrative subpoena, to demand that technology companies. turn people’s private secrets who have been opposing the Trump administration. This includes anonymous Instagram accounts that share information about ICE presence and raids, as well as people who oppose or oppose Trump and his policies.

ICE and Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Administrative subpoenas are issued directly by federal agencies without the intervention of a judge. These laws cannot compel companies to provide the contents of an individual’s email account, web browsing, or location data, but they may request metadata and other identifiable information, such as email addresses, in an attempt to identify the owner of a particular online account.

Contrary to court order, technology companies are not obligated to provide personal information after receiving an administrative subpoena.

Last week, the digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation sent a letter to Amazon, Apple, Discord, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Reddit, demanding that the companies stop providing information to the Department of Homeland Security, which houses ICE, in response to administrative subpoenas.

“Based on the way we communicate with our target users, we are deeply concerned that your company is failing to oppose illegal surveillance and protect users’ privacy,” read the letter.

“We call on companies that receive subpoenas to insist that DHS seek judicial confirmation that the requests are not illegal or unconstitutional before the companies disclose user information. We also encourage you to inform users of the information they want to know and the best time to challenge the subpoenas themselves,” it says.

Thomas-Johnson told The Intercept that, “we have to think about what resistance looks like in these situations…