WSJ Tech News Briefing · Friday, August 7, 2026
ICE's efforts to obtain user information from social media companies through subpoenas are facing pushback from users and their lawyers, who often argue First Amendment protections. In many such cases, ICE has withdrawn its requests when faced with legal challenges.
“A lot of the things that happen on the legal side of these investigations involve filing subpoenas with the social media companies themselves.”
“When users are notified by the company, some of them have obtained lawyers and their lawyers have pushed back. And in most of those cases, if not all of those cases, ICE will drop its case.”
“The Supreme Court has also held that true threats aren't protected by the Constitution.”