US government asks for data 1.3 million visitors to anti-Trump website

The US Department of Justice has asked the host of the anti-Trump website disruptj20 to provide data on 1.3 million visitors to the site. Below that are IP addresses. The hoster, Dreamhost, refuses the request because it is too wide.

Dreamhost has published a blog post in which it writes that in addition to the more than a million IP addresses, the ministry asks for contact information, email addresses and photos of thousands of people to determine who has visited the site. According to the company, visitors can be identified on the basis of this information, thereby jeopardizing their fundamental rights. The request would be too far-reaching and an example of abuse of power by the government. The July 12 search warrant lists details such as the website’s code, http, ssh and ftp logs, databases, email accounts and owner information.

The hoster claims to have declined the request. In response, the government asked a judge to require Dreamhost to explain why it cannot comply with the order and force the company if necessary. In partnership with the civil rights organization EFF, Dreamhost has now put forward its own legal counter-arguments, which the organization says is a “last resort.” A courtroom hearing is scheduled for August 18. The EFF writes that this process has been going on for some time and that prosecutors continue to use unconstitutional methods in their investigations. The organization speaks of a ‘digital dragnet’.

The government’s investigation focuses on the site disruptj20, which was set up to stage protests on the day of US President Trump’s inauguration. That took place on January 20, in which about 200 people were arrested. According to The Guardian, the US government has made previous attempts to identify individuals involved in protests against the president.