Oct 27, 2021 12:06:00

New information about 'keyword warrant' that Google submitted information of accounts that searched for specific keywords to government authorities revealed

U.S. government officials require that the account information of a person who searches for a specific keyword such as name, address, or phone number be submitted to a high-tech company such as Google without requesting a normal investigation warrant. It is clear that he was using.

Forbes , an economic newspaper, reports on the latest report on this 'keyword warrant.' In addition, Forbes reports are based on 'court documents that were not accidentally sealed' that they obtained independently.

Government orders Google to track anyone searching certain names, addresses, and phone numbers | Daily Mail Online
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10063665/Government-orders-Google-track-searching-certain-names-addresses-phone-numbers.html

Police officers typically identify the criminal, then request an investigation warrant and collect sensitive information about the criminal. However, in early October 2021, it was discovered that Google had submitted sensitive user information to police authorities 'before police identified the criminal.' This warrant, which allows you to request the submission of confidential information before a regular investigation warrant, is reported as a 'keyword warrant.' The 'keyword warrant' has been reported to have been secretly used for at least several years and has been criticized by some experts for violating constitutional protection against unjustified investigations and seizures.

It turns out that Google was sending information of 'users who searched with a specific keyword' to the police --GIGAZINE

by Stock Catalog

Jennifer Granick, an adviser to the Cyber Security Division at the American Civil Liberties Union , said, 'The keyword warrant, an unprecedented method, threatens the interests of the First Amendment, and the keywords are not unique and the duration is not accurate. In some cases, it will inevitably wipe out innocent people. To make matters worse, the police are secretly implementing this keyword warrant, which keeps the act isolated from public debate and regulation. He criticized the keyword warrant.

In response, Google said in a decision to respond to keyword warrants: 'Like all law enforcement requests, to protect user privacy and at the same time support important law enforcement activities. We use a rigorous process. ' Meanwhile, the U.S. government said, 'The scope of keyword warrants is limited and designed to avoid involving innocent people who accidentally search for a particular term,' and keyword warrants violate the privacy of the general public. I insist that there is nothing.

However, government officials have not disclosed the number of times keyword warrants have been used or the number of confidential information submitted by high-tech companies.

The most ambitious keyword warrant ever implemented was to identify the perpetrators of the 2018 series of explosions in Austin, Texas. To identify the culprit in the case, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued keyword decree to high-tech companies that operate search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft, such as 'low explosives' and 'pipe bombs.' We are requesting the delivery of the IP address and account information of the user who performed a keyword search such as '(pipe bomb)'.

Another keyword warrant was issued in 2019 in Wisconsin regarding trafficking and sexual abuse of minors. The FBI seems to have requested Google to submit data for users who searched for 'victim girl's name,' 'mother's name,' 'address,' etc., in order to identify the criminal. In response, Google has submitted to the FBI the Google account information and IP address that correspond to the data requested in mid-2020. However, it is unknown how many user account information was submitted to the FBI.