On January 27th, the United States Department of Justice announced new rules regarding the disclosure of National Security Orders. This included National Security Letters (NSLs) received by a company. The DOJ and Director of National Intelligence (DNI) now allow a company to disclose the number of letters and orders it has received as a single number in bands of 250. The first band would be 0-249. It continues to be illegal to make this disclosure as an exact number.
At Deerfield Hosting, we believe that disclosing the exact number of orders a company has received poses no threat to national security.
Many people assume that tech companies receive and comply with large numbers of such orders daily. However, the real numbers are probably quite small. For example, Apple has just reported a band of 0-249.
In keeping with the new rules, our report is this:
- National Security Orders Received: 0 – 249
- Total Accounts Affected: 0 – 249
We believe that the new rules are a step in the right direction, but do not go far enough. We also believe that orders of these types are a violation of due process and are unconstitutional. It is our policy to refuse to comply with such orders unless received by a court and not merely by the DOJ.
Moreover, if you wish to know of any orders we have received which pertain to any accounts you may have with us, simply ask us. We are quite prepared to break the law and give you an answer.