The demand for this information has set off some alarms although Google spokesperson Matt Bryant told Forbes, “With all law enforcement demands, we have a rigorous process designed to protect the privacy and constitutional rights of our users while supporting the important work of law enforcement. We examine each demand for legal validity, consistent with developing case law, and we routinely push back against over broad or otherwise inappropriate demands for user data, including objecting to some demands entirely.”
Those who concern themselves with privacy matters are unhappy to hear about the government requesting this information from Google. Albert Fox-Cahn, executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project said to Forbes, “It’s unconstitutional, it’s terrifying, and it’s happening every day.”
Federal investigators say that the request for information was legally justified since the data demanded, “would be relevant and material to an ongoing criminal investigation, including by providing identification information about the perpetrators.” The government also noted that such requests were made by police in other states. In one case in New Hampshire, investigators were digging into bomb threats streamed live over YouTube. Police requested information about those who were viewing the live streams at certain times.
