Elon Musk's social media company, X Corp., filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief with the United States Supreme Court, protesting against the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) practice of obtaining three years of transaction data from 14,000 Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange users – including James Harper – without a search warrant. The significance of this case extends beyond the specific incident, as it raises a fundamental constitutional question: can authorities legally compel companies to disclose their users' financial data without specific suspicion and judicial order, or does this violate the rights guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution?
The background of the case is that in 2020, Harper sued the IRS for the allegedly illegal seizure of information identifying cryptocurrency owners, but in 2023, a federal court ruled that the tax authority acted within its authority when obtaining Coinbase user data. In its filing, X refers to "broad, suspicionless" requests and asks the Supreme Court to limit the US government's ability to access user data without a search warrant, probable cause and particularized suspicion. If Tony Soprano makes an 'arrangement' with a 'business associate', any collateral promises – including promises to keep it a secret – are unenforceable... But terms of service agreements between users and Coinbase or X Corp. would not be deemed illegal contracts merely because some users... are otherwise properly subject to government investigation, X's lawyers argued in the brief.
The timing of the intervention is particularly noteworthy, considering that the Trump administration uses public material posted on social media to vet immigrants, and the Department of Homeland Security has proposed broadening the collection of social media account handles from visa applicants and those wishing to apply for residence in the US. X's legal action is also consistent with Musk's previous efforts: X had already argued in a lower court that Special Counsel Jack Smith should not have been allowed to prohibit the platform from informing Donald Trump that the government had issued a warrant seeking Trump's private communications. The Supreme Court's decision "could have a lasting effect on the standards by which the government may access customers' private information on crypto exchanges and other platforms without probable cause," said Chris Giancarlo, a lawyer at Willkie Farr, whose firm is representing another supporter of the case pro bono.
Sources:
1.
2.
3.
