Google breaks promise, hands user data to ICE without notice
Original: Google broke its promise to me – now ICE has my data
Why This Matters
Highlights tech companies' shifting privacy policies amid government pressure
Google provided Immigration and Customs Enforcement with data from PhD student Amandla Thomas-Johnson who attended pro-Palestinian protest, breaking nearly decade-long promise to notify users before sharing data with law enforcement agencies.
In September 2024, PhD student Amandla Thomas-Johnson briefly attended a pro-Palestinian protest at Cornell University while on a student visa. In April 2025, ICE sent Google an administrative subpoena requesting his data. Google handed over Thomas-Johnson's information to ICE in May 2025 without giving him opportunity to challenge the subpoena, breaking its nearly decade-long promise to notify users before providing data to law enforcement. Thomas-Johnson, a dual British and Trinidad and Tobago citizen who has not been accused of any crime, was forced into hiding for three months as federal agents searched for him. He eventually left the US for Canada. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has filed complaints with California and New York Attorneys General, asking them to investigate Google for deceptive trade practices for breaking its user notification promise.