Reddit’s Warrant Canary Just Died

Cory Doctorow, writing at BoingBoing:

In early 2015, Reddit published a transparency report that contained heading for National Security Requests, noting, “As of January 29, 2015, reddit has never received a National Security Letter, an order under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or any other classified request for user information.”

Five hours ago, Reddit published its 2015 edition, which contains no mention of classified requests for user information.

“Warrant canaries” are a response to the practice by governments of serving warrants on service providers that include gag orders forbidding the service from disclosing the warrant’s existence.

The idea of warrant canaries is ingenious — but when one works, it’s both terrifying and sad.

★ Thursday, 31 March 2016