14 DAY TRIAL // Unsurprisingly, the US government is moving to block tech companies from disclosing the number of secret requests they get for user data. The government argues that adversaries would be able to use this information to know what services to avoid and to get a picture of what the spy agencies monitor and how that changes over time.
Of course, it's naive, or perhaps even disingenuous, for the government to believe that terrorists actually use Gmail or Hotmail or any other US service these days.
The US Justice Department filed a paper [PDF] with the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to defend the government in a lawsuit filed by major US Internet companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo. These companies are asking for the right to disclose the number of secret requests they get in a certain period.
They believe this will provide a clearer picture of how they cooperate with the government and perhaps regain some trust from their users. Granted, none of the big companies seem to have been affected by the revelation of the PRISM program through which all of them voluntarily share information with the NSA.
The government, however, believes that even something as simple as revealing that a company got 100 or 1,000 requests would be valuable information to terrorists, somehow. It also believes that the gag order, which prevents the companies from disclosing this information, is in compliance with the First Amendment because it's narrowly targeted.
But, even if those arguments aren't enough, the Justice Department doesn't believe the FISC has jurisdiction over the matter anyway. The FISC was set up precisely as a check of the US spy apparatus and to prevent abuses. To date, the vast, vast majority of requests for broader surveillance made via the FISC were approved. The US government didn't have a problem with jurisdiction then. But the one time the FISC may be doing its time, the government believes it can safely ignore it.