[Infowarrior] - DOJ asked for news site's visitor lists

[Richard Forno]

Justice Dept. asked for news site's visitor lists
by Declan McCullagh

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10394026-38.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
In a case that raises questions about online journalism and privacy  
rights, the U.S. Department of Justice sent a formal request to an  
independent news site ordering it to provide details of all reader  
visits on a certain day.

The grand jury subpoena also required the Philadelphia-based  
Indymedia.us "not to disclose the existence of this request" unless  
authorized by the Justice Department, a gag order that presents an  
unusual quandary for any news organization.

Kristina Clair, a 34-year-old Linux administrator living in  
Philadelphia who provides free server space for Indymedia.us, said she  
was shocked to receive the Justice Department's subpoena. (The  
Independent Media Center is a left-of-center amalgamation of  
journalists and advocates that, according to their principles of unity  
and mission statement, work toward "promoting social and economic  
justice" and "social change.")

The subpoena (PDF) from U.S. Attorney Tim Morrison in Indianapolis  
demanded "all IP traffic to and from www.indymedia.us" on June 25,  
2008. It instructed Clair to "include IP addresses, times, and any  
other identifying information," including e-mail addresses, physical  
addresses, registered accounts, and Indymedia readers' Social Security  
numbers, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, and so on.

"I didn't think anything we were doing was worthy of any (federal)  
attention," Clair said in a telephone interview on Monday. After  
talking to other Indymedia volunteers, Clair ended up calling the  
Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco, which represented her  
at no cost.