If the linked article has a paywall, you can access this archived version instead: https://archive.ph/zyhax
The court orders show the government telling Google to provide the names, addresses, telephone numbers and user activity for all Google account users who accessed the YouTube videos between January 1 and January 8, 2023. The government also wanted the IP addresses of non-Google account owners who viewed the videos.
“This is the latest chapter in a disturbing trend where we see government agencies increasingly transforming search warrants into digital dragnets. It’s unconstitutional, it’s terrifying and it’s happening every day,” said Albert Fox-Cahn, executive director at the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project. “No one should fear a knock at the door from police simply because of what the YouTube algorithm serves up. I’m horrified that the courts are allowing this.” He said the orders were “just as chilling” as geofence warrants, where Google has been ordered to provide data on all users in the vicinity of a crime.
In real life the good guys don’t do that stuff. It’s sort of adjacent to copaganda where the noble police detective HAS to torture the suspect because he’s going to strike again! That red tape lawyer bs is going to get everyone killed!!!
But if you look at what that mentality enables in real life it’s innocent teens getting beaten up and tricked into incriminating themselves because bad media led us to believe breaking the rules is what good cops have to do to save the day.