A government report has found that the Department of Justice (DOJ) during the Trump administration failed to secure necessary authorizations prior to requesting customer call and message data from Apple and other entities.
Additionally, the DOJ did not seek authorization from the Attorney General before enforcing a gag order on Apple, which barred the company from revealing that it had been compelled to surrender personal data …
Context
In 2017, various media outlets relied on leaked data for reports regarding Trump associates interacting with Russian officials amid the 2016 presidential election. Some of this sensitive information was classified, leading to a DOJ investigation.
As part of this inquiry, the DOJ implemented numerous compulsory measures – including subpoenas, search warrants, and court orders – to acquire call and message records from journalists, congressional aides, and two Congress members. Apple was one of the primary companies compelled to deliver this information and was instructed not to disclose this obligation. In select instances, this gag order was renewed multiple times, extending up to four years.
Recognizing the potential clashes between such investigations and press freedom, established protocols require high-level approvals prior to data requests and the issuance of gag orders.
Office of the Inspector General Report
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conducted its own investigation to assess whether the process adhered to necessary protocols. It concluded that the DOJ did not secure the mandatory authorizations before the initial data request or prior to imposing gag orders (Non-Disclosure Orders) on Apple and Google.
Our investigation revealed that the Department did not convene the News Media Review Committee to evaluate the authorization requests for compulsory processes; it failed to obtain the required Director of National Intelligence (DNI) certification for one investigation, and we could not verify if the DNI certification for another investigation was provided to the Attorney General prior to his authorization of the request; furthermore, the Department did not acquire the Attorney General’s explicit approval for the sought Non-Disclosure Orders related to the compulsory processes in these investigations.
The OIG expressed concern regarding these oversights, emphasizing the need to prevent their recurrence.
Engadget reports that at the time, Apple pushed back, establishing a policy to only provide 25 “identifiers” (such as phone numbers and email addresses) for each request. The company also highlighted that it did not release photographs or email text content.
Apple regularly publishes transparency reports detailing the data it has released in response to requests from governments globally.
Image: OIG
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