A Canadian who has spent years anonymously criticizing President Trump on social media is suing the US Department of Homeland Security after the agency issued an administrative summons demanding Google hand over his name, home address, physical movements, browsing history, and communications — without a court order.
The plaintiff, identified as John Doe, posts under a pseudonym on X and other platforms, routinely targeting Trump’s administration and tagging US government officials’ accounts. His posts have received over 100,000 views. He has not been to the United States in more than a decade.
On February 14, DHS issued the summons to Google, where the plaintiff maintains a personal email account linked to his X account, seeking records between September 1, 2025 and February 4, 2026. Google informed the plaintiff and has not yet complied — but told him it cannot hold out forever.
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The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of California and backed by the American Civil Liberties Union, names DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin as the defendant. It asks the court to invalidate the summons and bar the government from using customs enforcement authority to identify and intimidate critics — a ruling that, if successful, would extend protections beyond this case.
The ACLU’s complaint calls the summons “a transparent gambit to chill speech the government doesn’t like.”
“I have long admired the United States for its commitment to free speech,” the plaintiff said. “Never in a million years did I think that, after criticizing the US government, I would be targeted with a summons seeking to find out who I am, where I live, where I go and what I read online.”
ACLU senior staff attorney Michael Perloff said DHS has not explained why it sought the data. “The imagination runs wild,” he said. “This administration certainly has not been restrained in its tactics to go after critics. The consequences of its potential release go beyond one individual, whether they are in the United States or elsewhere.”
DHS issued hundreds of similar subpoenas to Google, Reddit, Discord, and Meta, the New York Times reported in February, citing four individuals familiar with the requests. Other cases involve the government seeking data on critics of ICE. In each instance, DHS acted on its own authority without court approval.
“Not satisfied with trying to suppress speech at home, the Trump administration is now targeting dissenters abroad,” Perloff said.
Google said it objects to requests it considers overly broad or procedurally improper. “When we receive a subpoena, our review process is designed to protect user privacy while meeting our legal obligations,” a spokesperson told CBC News. “We inform users when their accounts have been subpoenaed, unless under legal order not to.”
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