The fight is on.
"The government’s search warrant requires DreamHost to turn over every piece of information it has about every visitor to a website expressing political views concerning the current administration," says the company, in a new court filing.
And unless you're in the business of deciding where your website will be hosted, you've probably never heard of DreamHost.
Until now.
DreamHost, a web hosting company, is in a fight with the U.S. Government that is going viral.
The company is fighting back against a demand from the Department of Justice relating to http://www.disruptj20.org which is a Trump resistance website that uses DreamHost to house the site. And the DOJ wants to know all about that site and who has viewed it on their computer, tablet or phone.
"The request from the DOJ demands that DreamHost hand over 1.3 million visitor IP addresses — in addition to contact information, email content, and photos of thousands of people — in an effort to determine who simply visited the website. That information could be used to identify any individuals who used this site to exercise and express political speech protected under the Constitution’s First Amendment. That should be enough to set alarm bells off in anyone’s mind."
And that's exactly what happened in this case. Alarm bells went off within the company. DreamHost says it has helped in the past with what it believes are warrented criminal investigations. Not this time.
In a blog post this week, the company details the request and its response to the DOJ. The company's general counsel calls it a highly untargeted demand that chills free association and the right of free speech afforded by the Constitution. "This is, in our opinion, a strong example of investigatory overreach and a clear abuse of government authority."
More Information on DOJ Demand for DreamHost records:
Department of Justice Filing - Original Demand to DreamHost
Department of Justice Filing - Response to DreamHost's Objections
DreamHost Filing - Offical Response and Objections To Government Demand
A hearing in this case is scheduled for Friday August 18. SecureWorld will continue to upate this story.
