Security News > 2021 > June > FBI drops subpoena to identify readers of USA Today article about shootout with agents

The FBI on Saturday withdrew a subpoena issued to USA Today's parent company Gannett in April to find out who read an online news story published in February about a shootout that led to the deaths of two FBI agents and the wounding of three others.

The article described how an FBI operation went awry a day earlier when two agents were shot and killed and three other agents were wounded while serving a warrant in a child exploitation investigation.

An FBI spokesperson told The Register in an email that the subpoena was withdrawn because the agency no longer needed the reader information.

"The administrative subpoena was issued in connection with a child exploitation investigation and was limited to subscriber-related information in a narrow time window," the FBI spokesperson said.

Cope said that the USA Today subpoena raises First Amendment concerns for online readers.

The subpoena also implicates the First Amendment rights of the press.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2021/06/08/fbi_usatoday_subpoena/