by John-Michael Dumais, Childrens Health Defense:

Federal investigators ordered Google to turn over personal information on viewers of specific YouTube videos, according to court documents obtained by Forbes. Privacy experts said the orders violate constitutional rights and turn innocent viewers into criminal suspects.

Federal investigators ordered Google to hand over personal information on viewers of specific YouTube videos, prompting questions among privacy experts about the constitutionality of such requests.

TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/

The orders, obtained by Forbes, require Google to turn over names, addresses, telephone numbers and user activity for account holders — and IP addresses, numeric identifiers of internet location, of non-account holders — who watched certain videos.

Critics said the demands threaten to turn innocent YouTube viewers into criminal suspects, violating their free speech rights under the First Amendment and privacy rights under the Fourth Amendment.

Unclear if Google complied with orders

In a Kentucky case reviewed by Forbes, undercover police sought to identify the person behind the online moniker “elonmuskwhm,” suspected of buying bitcoin for cash in potential violation of money laundering laws and rules governing the transmission of unlicensed money.

The police sent links to YouTube tutorials — that collectively garnered over 30,000 views — on drone mapping and augmented reality software and then asked Google for information on anyone who had accessed the videos from Jan. 1-8, 2023.

The court granted the order, but court records don’t reveal if Google complied.

In a separate New Hampshire case, Portsmouth police received a threat about an explosive placed in a public trash can, Forbes reported. After searching the area, police discovered they were being watched via a YouTube livestream associated with a local business.

Federal investigators believe events similar to the one in Portsmouth have occurred nationwide and requested that Google provide a list of accounts that “viewed and/or interacted with” eight YouTube livestreams, including one posted by Boston and Maine Live with 130,000 subscribers.

It remains unclear if Google provided the data in this case.

Google spokesperson Matt Bryant said the company has “a rigorous process designed to protect the privacy and constitutional rights of our users while supporting the important work of law enforcement,” according to Forbes.

Bryant said Google examines each demand for legal validity, pushes back against overbroad or inappropriate requests and sometimes objects to demands entirely.

Google recently announced an update that will make it technically impossible for the company to provide information in response to geofence orders — orders that seek data from all users within a certain distance from a crime.

This move comes after a California court ruled that a geofence warrant covering several densely populated areas in Los Angeles was unconstitutional, raising hopes that courts would stop police from seeking such data.

Read More @ ChildrensHealthDefense.org