Another NSL Gag Order Successfully Challenged In Court

Another National Security Letter is on its way to being published. There's no way of telling when it will arrive, but it will be sooner than the government's clear preference: never.

Adobe is the unlikely recipient of the NSL and accompanying gag order. The decision in a recently unsealed case says indefinite gag orders aren't Constitutional, which is good news for the recipients of the thousands of NSLs the FBI issues every year.

Thankfully, the court in Adobe's case recognized the serious harm to free speech these gags represent. It held that orders barring companies from notifying their users about government data requests are both prior restraints and content-based restrictions on speech subject to strict scrutiny. That's a very high bar. The court found that the indefinite gag order imposed on Adobe fails strict scrutiny because the government could make "no showing[] that Adobe's speech will threaten the investigation in perpetuity."

The decision [PDF] raises the government's hopes before dashing them quite expertly. It opens by agreeing with one of the government's assertions:

Adobe first contends that 18 U.S. 2750(b) ("Section 2705(b)") requires that the Court provide a date certain for the NPO's [Notice Preclusion Order] expiration. The government contends that Section 2705(b) allows for NPOs of indefinite duration. The Court agrees with the government.

But it's this assertion -- the one the court agrees with -- that allows Adobe's free speech arguments to prevail.

Adobe next contends that the NPO is a content-based prior restraint that is not narrowly-tailored to achieve a compelling government interest. As such, Adobe argues, the NPO violates the First Amendment. (Appl. at 4-5.) The government argues that (1) Adobe does not have a right under the First Amendment to notify the Subscriber of the Warrant's existence; and (2) even if Adobe did have such a right, the government's compelling interests justify the NPO as currently tailored. The Court finds that a narrower tailoring of the NPO is warranted.

[...]

As written, the NPO at issue herein effectively bars Adobe's speech in perpetuity. The government does not contend, and has made no showing, that Adobe's speech will threaten the investigation in perpetuity. Therefore, as written, the NPO manifestly goes further than necessary to protect the government's interest.

The court also isn't interested in helping the government shift the burden to Adobe as to why this NPO shouldn't be in place indefinitely. In fact, it finds the government's attempt to do so undermines its "this doesn't implicate the First Amendment" arguments.

The government further argues that the NPO is already limited by the Court's discretion to set an end at some later date. As this "judicial[] limit[]" allows "both Adobe and the government to apply for the order to be lifted after its raison d'etre fades, the NPO is as narrowly-tailored as required." (Oppo. at 17.) This argument ignores the fact that Adobe is not privy to the government's investigation. Thus Adobe will not know when the NPO's "raison d'etre fades." Moreover, virtually every statute, regulation, order, or other government-imposed restriction on speech can be attacked in a judicial proceeding. Therefore, the government's argument - in essence, "The order is narrowly-tailored because Adobe has the option of challenging it in court" - demonstrates nothing of relevance.

In any event, putting the onus on the speaker to lift a no-longer-justified content-based restriction is hardly narrow tailoring. Adding the fact that the speaker cannot know when the restriction's "raison d'etre fades" effectively equates to no tailoring at all. An RCS provider might decide to forego speaking rather than incur the trouble and expense of potentially futile court trips. That the government could in theory, apply to have the NPO lifted is no answer. As the NPO does not apply to the government, the government would have little incentive to do so. Accordingly, on the record before the Court, the government's argument does little more than illustrate the NPO's potential for burdening or chilling Adobe's speech.

Other NSL litigation is still ongoing and this decision bears little precedential value, especially in other circuits. But every judicial citation attacking indefinite gag orders helps, especially as these challenges are becoming more common as a result of the USA Freedom Act's creation of new redress options for NSL recipients.