Police Hit Inauguration Protestors with Extensive Facebook Data Searches

Facebook has been hit with requests from law enforcement asking for the account information of users who were arrested while protesting against Donald Trump’s inauguration in Washington, DC.

More than 230 people were arrested and had their phones confiscated during the massive inauguration demonstrations, largely on charges of rioting, according to Engadget. Now, CityLab has learned that the D.C. Metropolitan Police have requested the subscriber information of at least two arrestees, who have remained anonymous.

One of those individuals received a notification from Facebook’s Law Enforcement Response Team stating that the tech company had “received legal process from law enforcement requesting information about your Facebook account.” The email warned that the individual had ten days to legally challenge the request.

CityLab also acquired a copy of a subpoena filed on January 27 by the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and executed by a DC Metropolitan Police Detective, which purportedly lists a group of individuals whose social media data the police are seeking.

The scope of the data the police are authorized to obtain depends on the type of “legal process” sent to Facebook and is currently unknown. If Facebook provides the IP addresses of recent logins and logouts, however, the information could have a significant impact on their investigations.

“Asking for IP data could point toward a physical location—i.e. an apartment—that people stayed in and could widen the net for further prosecution of other protesters,” says Freddy Martinez, director of police accountability group Lucy Parsons Labs.

Both Facebook and the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department have declined to respond to requests for comment.

Featured Image: Daniel Garcia Art