When Homeland Security Wants Names, Will Google Have Your Back?

When we use the internet, we're entrusting tech companies with some of our most private information. These companies have promised they'll keep our data safe. But what happens when the government comes knocking at their doors?

In April 2025, ICE sent Google an administrative subpoena requesting the data of Amandla Thomas-Johnson, a Ph.D. candidate studying in the U.S. on a student visa. The next month, Google gave Thomas-Johnson's information to ICE without giving him the chance to challenge the invalid subpoena, breaking a nearly decade-long promise to notify users before handing their data to law enforcement. Read Thomas-Johnson's account of his ordeal: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/04/google-broke-its-promise-me-now-ice-has-my-data.

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00:00 Intro
04:11 Interview with F. Mario Trujillo
18:09 Discussion
21:43 Digital Rights Quiz
33:38 EFF Events and Opportunities