Canadian sues U.S. Homeland Security, which allegedly sought his Google data after critical social media posts
Lawsuit filed by ACLU on Canadian's behalf slams 'a transparent gambit to chill speech'
Chris Iorfida · CBC News · Posted: May 06, 2026 9:21 AM EDT
A Canadian is fighting back in U.S. federal court over what he says is an attempt by the Department of Homeland Security, through Google, to seek "vast swaths of information" about his personal life following social media posts critical of Donald Trump's administration.
The Canadian John Doe plaintiff on Monday sued Markwayne Mullin, the current DHS secretary, in a lawsuit that contends DHS is engaged in "a transparent gambit to chill speech the government doesn't like." The suit was brought by American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) offices in D.C., where DHS is located, and in northern California, the jurisdiction where Google has its headquarters.
"I have long admired the United States for its commitment to free speech," the plaintiff said in a statement released by the ACLU. "Never in a million years did I think that, after criticizing the U.S. government, I would be targeted with a summons seeking to find out who I am, where I live, where I go and what I read online. You don’t have to be from America to know that this is un-American."
More at link
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/us-dhs-aclu-lawsuit-canadian-john-doe-9.7187851