In a victory for transparency and free speech, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has unanimously ruled in X’s favor to limit the U.S. government’s ability to issue gag orders. These gag orders prevent X from notifying the public when it receives government search warrants and subpoenas.
Last year, X received a subpoena from the federal government demanding the personal information of two former FBI agents, Kyle Seraphin and Garrett O’Doyle. This was accompanied by a gag order requiring X to keep the subpoena secret. Seraphin and O’Doyle were whistleblowers who had disclosed to Congress that the FBI was improperly targeting certain politically disfavored groups.
Following their whistleblowing activities, Seraphin and O’Doyle were fired from their jobs and subject to a criminal investigation, suggesting retaliation by the government. Yet when X wanted to transparently disclose the government’s subpoena to the public, it could not do so because the government had obtained a gag order.
X challenged the gag order in court, arguing that it violated federal statutes and the First Amendment. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has now vindicated X’s challenge, ruling that the gag order exceeded the government’s authority. X welcomes the ruling, which will help ensure transparency and accountability in the U.S. government’s efforts to investigate its citizens.