Tech giants, including Google and Meta, are reportedly resisting the Trump administration as federal immigration authorities escalate their use of subpoenas to track down online critics. Silicon Valley companies are delaying responses, challenging broad government requests and expanding notification policies for their users, as per a report by The Wall Street Journal. The pushback comes as tech executives brace for potential congressional investigations led by Democrats following upcoming midterm elections, while balancing privacy concerns from their own workforces and navigating relations with the current administration. Lawmakers are already pressing these companies to explain why sensitive customer details have been turned over to federal authorities.“They need to be prepared to say, under oath, why they did what they did,” said Rep. Shri Thanedar, who co-launched a probe into tech compliance earlier this year. Over the past year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a division of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has monitored platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, TikTok and X it classifies as threats to agents or enforcement activities.To pull user records, federal authorities have turned heavily to administrative subpoenas. Unlike judicial warrants or grand jury subpoenas, these orders are written and approved directly by ICE officials without prior judicial review – a practice former officials from both major political parties describe as a sharp departure from standard procedure.The report also highlights the volume of government requests. For example, Google logged approximately 28,600 US government subpoenas between January and June 2025, matching similar numbers through the remainder of that year. To counter resistance, DHS has teamed with the Department of Justice in recent weeks to issue grand jury subpoenas, which carry higher legal penalties for noncompliance.Meta reported handing over at least some data in 88.8% of US government requests received between July and December of last year.
Tech Giants getting caught between legal fights and retaliation
Both Google and Meta executives have privately voiced concerns over their exposure. Inside Meta, leadership is assessing vulnerabilities to Democratic oversight if congressional power changes hands. Google leadership has weighed similar concerns, while worrying that stonewalling could trigger retaliation from the administration, such as further scrutiny of its pending federal antitrust cases.In response, Google pointed to its operational safeguards, noting its processes are built to guard customer privacy while satisfying legal requirements, emphasising that it rejects demands deemed overbroad.Federal authorities maintain their actions adhere to the law. An ICE spokesperson stated that operations are “conducted in accordance with applicable law and policy.”
