Appeals Court Blocks DOJ Push to Access LinkedIn Data of Journalists

An appeals court ruled that the Trump administration's Department of Justice went too far in requesting 18 months of communications from targeted journalists on LinkedIn. The DOJ had sought extensive data in an effort to investigate suspected leaks of top-secret military information, casting a wide net that affected many reporters with no connection to the probe. The unanimous three-judge panel found that allowing such government overreach threatens the First Amendment rights of users and undermines a critical platform where reporters connect with confidential sources. The court ordered the lower district court to substantially narrow the order to protect press freedoms. The judges noted that sweeping up records wholesale would severely damage democratic health and silence dissidents. Because the request included a secrecy order that kept LinkedIn from notifying users for a year, the affected journalists were left unaware that their communications were being reviewed.