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Elon Musk’s social media company X has asked the Supreme Court to protect users from US law enforcement.
X said he was concerned about the “wide and unsuspecting” demands in a simple matter filed in the High Court, adding that the platform “should not be forced to help the government in eroding users’ privacy.”
The support brief, submitted Friday, will be in a long-term case raised by James Harper, a user of Crypto Exchange Coinbase. He claims that in violation of the site’s privacy policy, he is one of the thousands of Coinbase clients whose transaction data has been handed over to the Internal Revenue Service as part of a “fishing expedition” to potential tax fraud.
The victory of plaintiffs in cases the Supreme Court has yet to agree to hear would limit the US government from persuasive data handed over by X without “presumed cause and suspected identified.”
X, purchased by mask artificial intelligence company Xai on Friday, declined to comment on the submission.
A person close to X said Harper’s case “supposes concern that if (x) the government is allowed to allow access to user data without a court-approved search warrant, users’ speech could be reduced.”
They added: “This issue is not specific to X. This means that the constitution does not prevent the government from sn searching through users’ accounts on social media or financial platforms.”
Timing of the intervention by X – the only individual company to file a brief in previous cases – is noteworthy given the Trump administration’s use of immigrants on social media using public materials to veterinarians.
Last month, the Department of Homeland Security proposed to expand its collection of social media account handles from Visa applicants and those wishing to reside in the United States.
A White House spokesman did not respond to requests for comment.
The filing of X in the Supreme Court case also occurs as MUSK has taken an increasingly fighting approach to what it claims to be a government effort to censor social media users.
Since purchasing X for $44 billion in 2022, self-proclaimed “free speech absolutists” have attacked “takedowns” demands in Brazil, India and Australia, clashing with governments and judiciary in those countries.
In Harper’s case, X appears to be concerned that US government agencies can obtain personal records for users. This is concerned that even if no warrant is issued, the user’s personal records can be obtained using law enforcement agencies that provide the right to access information shared with third parties.
“When Tony Soprano makes ‘business associates’ and ‘arrangements’, it’s unenforceable, including the promise to keep the collateral promise secret,” X’s lawyer wrote, referring to the mob boss in the HBO TV drama The Sopranos.
“However, a Terms of Service Agreement between you and Coinbase or X Corp is not considered an illegal agreement simply because some users are properly covered by government investigations.”
X collects financial data from brands advertised on its platform, and collects users who provide or sign up with paywall content.
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The platform aims to further advance financial services. X’s lawyers explained that CEO Linda Yaccarino recently announced plans to launch X Money, a digital wallet and peer-to-peer payment service, with Visa as its first partner.
The X brief was submitted by lawyers at the Pacific Law Foundation, a public interest law firm several decades ago that fought for civil freedoms. The staff have previously criticized Musk for other issues.
Willkie Farr’s lawyer Chris Giancarlo told Willkie Farr, who represents another supporter of the plaintiff in the case, that the Supreme Court’s decision “may have a lasting impact on the standards that the government can access clients’ personal information on crypto exchanges and other platforms.”
