The United States Department of Homeland Security has been sending official requests for months to Meta, Google, Reddit and other companies in the sector to hand over the personal data of users of accounts from which ICE has been criticized.
The decision does not have judicial support, but refusing to collaborate with a federal agency can have consequences for these companies, especially if their owners want to continue having a good relationship with them. Donald Trump and its administration.
The fact that a good part of the business of these platforms consists precisely of the anonymity they provide to their users suggests that not all of these requirements are being met.
However, Google has already admitted that it is studying the requests as they arrive and that it informs those affected about them, “except in case we are asked not to do so”, which seems to be an admission that it is collaborating with the Government.
Although Meta, Reddit and Discord did not respond to The New York Times In their request for information, the DSN officials consulted affirm that they are also helping the White House in its fight against online criticism.
It is unknown what the DSN is doing with that confidential data.
ICE agents already threatened during the raids in Minneapolis that protesters were being recorded and would be subjected to facial recognition techniques to put them in a database of troublemakers.
It is likely that both operations have the same purpose: to complete the profiles of hundreds of thousands of Americans critical of the Government for possible subsequent judicial (or even electoral) actions.
Of course, those affected can protest in court and demand that the government get rid of all traces of their personal data acquired in this way… but, to do so, they obviously have to know that the companies are giving it to them.
Without prior knowledge, many of these users will now be the subject of scrutiny by the federal agency led by the controversy Kristi Noem without even intuiting it.
The DSN, without funding since Saturday
The former governor of South Dakota was pointed out by Democrats and moderate Republicans as ultimately responsible for the deaths of Renée Good y Alex Pretti in less than three weeks.
Even part of the MAGA movement seemed to look to Noem as a kind of scapegoat to protect the great leader.
Noem’s negligence in carrying out Trump’s orders would have been the cause of these incidents, which Noem herself refused to condemn at any time.
However, Noem has survived the political storm. At least, for now.
Last Friday, Democrats blocked any agreement to finance the agency, which means that, currently, its workers are not receiving any salary.
MAGA claims that this endangers the Trump administration’s immigration policy, but Democratic figures such as Senator John Fetterman They have made it very clear that it will not be like that.
In fact, the curious thing about all this is that ICE continues to function independently, since its financing is already guaranteed by the budget law approved in July of last year—the One Big Beautiful Bill—after tense negotiations between both parties.
In other words, Democrats have forced this closure to introduce changes to ICE, but ICE will continue as it was while the rest of the workers, in areas as critical as transportation, will pay the consequences.
Threats to Anthropic due to the use of AI
One of the opposition’s requests is that ICE agents stop wearing masks that cover their faces, as it makes it difficult to identify them in case of malpractice.
Its paramilitary aspect, defended by Noem appealing to security reasons, is reminiscent of that of the Oath Keepers, the Proud Boys and other far-right “militias” that have always supported Trump and that, in fact, had an active participation in the protests that led to the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
It is ironic that, while the DSN protects the identity of its agents, it demands the personal data of those who criticize them.
It seems like a movement more typical of a totalitarian state than of a democracy where freedom of expression should be guaranteed with no limitations other than the law.
The pressure on Google, Meta, Reddit, Discord, etc. adds to the Pentagon’s threats to the company Anthropic, owner of Claude, the AI tool used by the Department of Defense to capture Nicolas Maduro.
Anthropic does not want its technology to be used to fire weapons without human supervision or for mass spying on American citizens.
The Trump administration considers these restrictions an act of disloyalty and Pete HegsethSecretary of Defense (or War, as the current administration calls him), has stated that the Pentagon is prepared to cut ties at any time and sanction those companies that reach agreements with Anthropic or use Claude.
The authoritarian drift, to which could be added the massive layoffs in the Washington Post after the change of course required by Jeff Bezos or the very strange decision of the Gallup firm to no longer publish the president’s approval ratings after almost a century of doing so, there seems to be no turning back.
The midterm elections next November will be the great touchstone of American democracy. If they are celebrated.