The Department of Homeland Security has reportedly sent hundreds of subpoenas seeking to expose anti-ICE accounts

The Department of Homeland Security has increased pressure on technology companies to identify owners of social media accounts critical of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to the New York Times.

This echoes other recent reports, with Bloomberg citing five cases in which the Department of Homeland Security sought to identify the owners of anonymous Instagram accounts, with the department withdrawing subpoenas after the owners filed a lawsuit. A Washington Post story described the Department of Homeland Security’s increasing use of administrative subpoenas — which do not require a judge’s approval — to target Americans.

Now the New York Times says the practice, once used sparingly, has become increasingly common in recent months, with the department sending hundreds of such subpoenas to Google, Reddit, Discord, and Meta. The subpoenas reportedly focused on accounts that did not have a real name attached and criticized ICE or described the location of ICE agents.

Google, Meta, and Reddit have reportedly complied in at least some cases. Reiterating previous comments, Google said it notifies users of these subpoenas when it can, and that it responds when subpoenas are “overly broad.”