Judge approves limited search warrant for data on anti-Trump protesters

A District of Columbia judge ruled that a Web host provider must provide the government with digital data from a website widely used to help organize protests against President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January. The ruling by District of Columbia Superior Court Chief Judge Robert E. Morin marked a win for the government, although Judge Morin said he would supervise the government’s use of the data it collects from Web host DreamHost. Chris Ghazarian, general counsel for DreamHost, said the company needed to review the ruling before deciding whether to appeal.

In a 90-minute hearing Aug 24, Judge Morin ruled from the bench that DreamHost must provide the government with all other data from disruptj20.org that it sought under the search warrant. But Judge Morin put restrictions on what they could do with the material. He ruled that the government must disclose how they plan to review the data, identify those involved in the process, and explain how they will avoid collecting protected information about "innocent visitors" to the website. Judge Morin also limited the scope of the search from when the website domain was created in October 2016 to Inauguration Day on Jan. 20. He also said Justice cannot distribute or publicize the data it collects, including to any other government agency.