Fourth Circuit Blocks Trump Order for Reporters' LinkedIn Data

The Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit blocked a Trump administration order that required LinkedIn to provide 18 months of private data on several reporters. In a unanimous ruling, the court found the request too broad and a threat to First Amendment press freedoms, noting that the order could reveal numerous unrelated confidential sources.

The court sent the dispute back to a district court judge to narrow the scope of the order and suggested that LinkedIn be allowed to notify the legal counsel of the affected news organization. The case likely stems from a leak investigation into a New York Times article concerning a botched 2019 military operation in North Korea, during which Navy SEAL Team 6 killed unarmed civilians.

The Justice Department had previously imposed a gag order to keep the data demand secret. This action follows a series of aggressive tactics by the administration, including the subpoenaing of freelance journalist Matthew Cole and a search of a Washington Post reporter's home. The New York Times characterized these attempts to access reporter communications as a pattern of targeting a free press that violates constitutional protections.