Law enforcement guidelines

We respond to valid legal process issued by a U.S. court or government agency with appropriate jurisdiction, including:

• Subpoenas (grand jury, administrative, civil)
• Court orders (including 18 U.S.C. § 2703(d) orders)
• Search warrants
• Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) requests

Absent an emergency involving risk of death or serious physical harm, we require due process. Requests should specify the information sought with particularity and, where the requested information is content, should be accompanied by an appropriate warrant.

We may disclose information in good faith when we believe an emergency involving imminent risk of death or serious physical harm makes immediate disclosure necessary. Emergency requests must include:

• The nature of the emergency
• The person at risk
• The specific data sought
• The timeframe in which information is needed
• The requesting agency, officer name, and credentials

Mark emergency requests with “EMERGENCY” in the subject line and email [email protected].

We honor preservation requests under 18 U.S.C. § 2703(f). A preservation request will cause us to preserve records associated with a specified account for ninety (90) days, extendable upon written renewal. Preservation alone does not disclose records — subsequent legal process is required for production.

Our policy is to notify users of legal requests for their information unless we are prohibited by law from doing so (for example, when the request is accompanied by a non-disclosure order), or where we conclude in good faith that notice would create risk of injury or harm to a third party.

Where permitted by law, we may seek reimbursement for costs associated with responding to legal process (e.g., 18 U.S.C. § 2706).

Reports of apparent child sexual abuse material are filed with NCMEC’s CyberTipline pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 2258A. See our Content Safety policy and Anti-Trafficking Policy for more detail.