DHS Uses Secret Customs Tool to Seize Journalists’ Data Without Court Oversight

The Department of Homeland Security has been using a little-known 19 USC 1509 administrative summons—intended for customs matters—to demand data from tech platforms about journalists, activists, and nonprofits without judicial review. The approach has drawn sharp criticism from press groups and privacy advocates after cases like six months of journalist Georgia Fort’s phone records and attempted YouTube data for Don Lemon, with courts sometimes blocking the requests or the government withdrawing them. The tactic can be kept secret and places the burden on users and companies to challenge, raising concerns about First Amendment rights and government overreach.