Filed in January, the court order demands Dynadot provide all the information it has on WikiLeaks and Assange
(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Web hosting provider Dynadot (www.dynadot.com) complied with an order to hand over information about its client WikiLeaks (www.wikileaks.org), according to a tweet from the whistleblowing organization on Wednesday.
The California-based web host received a court order to produce information on Julian Assange under the PATRIOT Act, according to a report by Bloomberg.
According to the report, the order by a magistrate judge in the US District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, filed under seal on January 4, demanded customer account information for each account registered to, or associated with WikiLeaks, Julian Assange or wikileaks.org from November 2009.
“Our Californian DNS hoster, Dynadot, has received a Patriot Act production order for information on Julian Assange. It has complied,” the tweet by WikiLeaks read on Wednesday.
The Next Web says the PATRIOT Act “reduces the restrictions on law enforcement agencies’ powers to search telephone and e-mail communications, as well as other private records.”
Web hosting providers have to be prepared for these kinds of investigations, and should consult a lawyer to ensure they are also complying with contractual and legal obligations to customers.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Dynadot will not discuss the case as it doesn’t provide information about customer accounts with anyone other than the account holder.
The Dynadot order was issued around the same time prosecutors in Virginia obtained a similar order for records from Twitter Inc.
US officials have been investigating the disclosure of classified government documents to WikiLeaks.
About Nicole Henderson
Nicole Henderson writes full-time for the Web Host Industry Review where she covers daily news and features online, as well as in print. She has a bachelor of journalism from Ryerson University in Toronto, and has been writing for the WHIR since September 2010. You can find her on Twitter @NicoleHenderson.
No related posts.
