Google turned over large amounts of personal data about a student and journalist to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in response to a subpoena that was not approved by a judge, according to a report by The Intercept.

The search and advertising tech giant provided ICE with usernames, physical addresses, and an itemized list of services associated with the Google account of Amandla Thomas-Johnson, a British student and journalist who attended a pro-Palestinian protest in 2024 while studying at Cornell University in New York.

Google also turned over Thomas-Johnson’s IP addresses, phone numbers, subscriber and identity numbers, and credit card and bank account numbers linked to his account.

The subpoena, which reportedly includes a gag order, does not include a specific reason why ICE is requesting Thomas-Johnson’s personal data, but the student said before that the demand for his data came within two hours of Cornell notifying him that the US government had revoked his student visa.

It’s the latest example of how the US government is using a controversial type of legal request, called an administrative subpoena, to subpoena technology companies. return private data to individuals who has been critical of the Trump administration. This includes anonymous Instagram accounts that share information about ICE presence and raids, as well as people who criticize or protest Trump and his policies.

ICE and Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Administrative subpoenas are issued directly by federal agencies without the intervention of a judge. These legal demands cannot compel companies to return the content of a person’s email accounts, online searches, or location data, but may request metadata and other identifiable information, such as email addresses, in an attempt to anonymize the owner of a specific online account.

Unlike a court order, tech companies are under no obligation to hand over someone’s data after receiving an administrative subpoena.

Last week, the digital rights group, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, sent a letter to Amazon, Apple, Discord, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Reddit, requesting that the companies stop providing data to the Department of Homeland Security, which is housed by ICE, in response to administrative subpoenas.

“Based on our own contact with targeted users, we are deeply concerned that your companies have failed to challenge the unlawful surveillance and protection of user privacy and speech,” read the letter.

“We call on companies that receive such subpoenas to insist that DHS seek confirmation from the court that their demands are not unlawful or unconstitutional before the companies disclose any user information. We also encourage you to inform users about the demands for their information with a meaningful time to challenge the subpoenas themselves,” it read.

Thomas-Johnson told The Intercept that, “we have to think hard about what resistance looks like under these conditions…