To obtain a warrant, a law enforcement officer must show a judge that there is “probable cause” to believe that the evidence sought is related to a crime. This is a higher standard than what is required for a general order. A warrant may be used to obtain stored content (such as text message content or email content), location information, or more basic subscriber or transactional information.
During the first half of 2021, we received a total of 19,168 general orders and warrants. They sought data regarding 41,087 information points, such as telephone numbers, used to identify customers. These customer identifiers are also known as “selectors.” On average, each order or warrant sought information about 2.1 selectors. The number of selectors is usually greater than the number of customer accounts. For instance, if a customer had multiple telephone numbers, then it is possible that an order or warrant seeking information about multiple selectors was actually seeking information about only one customer. During the first half of 2021, over 75% of the orders and warrants we received sought information on only one selector (and thus only one customer), and over 90% sought information regarding three or fewer selectors (and thus three or fewer customers).
What showing must law enforcement make to obtain a warrant? To obtain a warrant, a law enforcement officer has to show a judge that there is probable cause to believe that the evidence it seeks is related to a crime and in the specific place to be searched.
What is the difference between stored content and non-content? “Stored content” refers to communications or other data that our users create and store through our services, such as text messages or photographs. We require a warrant before disclosing stored content to law enforcement, absent an emergency involving the danger of death or serious physical injury. Non-content refers to records we create, such as subscriber information that a customer provides at the time she signs up for our services. Non-content also includes transactional information regarding the customer’s use of our services, such as the phone numbers that a customer called.