By Noam Cohen
Published: January 9, 2011
THE news that federal prosecutors have demanded that the microblogging site Twitter provide the account details of people connected to the WikiLeaks case, including its founder, Julian Assange, isn’t noteworthy because the government’s request was unusual or intrusive. It is noteworthy because it became public.
For six years, the FBI has barred a New York man from revealing that the agency had ordered him to hand over personal information about clients of his internet start-up. Finally allowed to speak, Nick Merrill joins us in his first broadcast interview to talk about how he challenged the FBI’s use of national security letters.
In 2004, the ACLU filed a lawsuit challenging the FBI's authority to demand records through NSLs and to gag NSL recipients. The suit — the first of its kind — was brought on behalf of a John Doe Internet Service Provider that had been served with an NSL and had been prohibited from disclosing — to anyone — that the FBI had demanded records. Because of the gag order, the lawsuit was initially filed under seal. More than three years ago, the FBI abandoned its demand for records. It wasn't until mid 2010 - nearly 6 and a half years later - that I was finally partially released from the gag.. Not completely - but at least enough to be identified publicly as the plaintiff in the case...
http://www.aclu.org/national-security/doe-v-holder
published Friday, March 23, 2007 in
The Washington Post
It is the policy of The Washington Post not to publish anonymous pieces. In this case, an exception has been made because the author -- who would have preferred to be named -- is legally prohibited from disclosing his or her identity in connection with receipt of a national security letter. The Post confirmed the legitimacy of this submission by verifying it with the author's attorney and by reviewing publicly available court documents.