T-Mobile provides journalist's phone records to US government

T-Mobile is facing scrutiny after providing federal investigators with approximately 10,000 call and text metadata records belonging to independent journalist Georgia Fort. The data covers a six-month period and was obtained via an administrative summons under 19 U.S.C. 1509, a statute typically used for customs and import investigations rather than domestic criminal matters.

Fort was covering a January protest in Minnesota related to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) action when she was arrested. Because the government used an administrative summons instead of a warrant, the request did not require judicial approval, and Fort was not notified or given the opportunity to challenge the disclosure.

Press freedom advocates, including the Freedom of the Press Foundation, have expressed concern that even without the content of messages, metadata can expose a reporter’s confidential sources. The case has drawn further attention because Google reportedly refused similar requests from the government, arguing they could violate the Stored Communications Act, whereas T-Mobile complied. T-Mobile stated it handles requests “in accordance with the law” and takes customer privacy seriously.