Service Providers Say Recent Rulings Show FBI Gag Orders Are Unconstitutional

(January 10, 2019, 1:01 PM EST) -- SAN FRANCISCO — In a Jan. 4 filing, two electronic communication service providers (ECSPs) cite recent rulings by the First and Fourth Circuit U.S. Courts of Appeals that they say illustrate that nondisclosure requirements of national security letters (NSLs) served on them by the Federal Bureau of Investigation constitute prior restraint in violation of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, asking the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to grant their 15-month- old motion for rehearing (In re National Security Letter, No. 16-16067, -16081, -16082 and -16190, 9th Cir.)....