GoKawiilGuest Post / Android Authority
TL;DR A legal complaint has been filed against Google after it gave a student’s data to the government without notifying the user.
Google’s own policy notes that, with a few exceptions, it will notify users before handing over data.
This news also comes as Google-free Android forks like GrapheneOS gain steam, along with alternatives to Google apps.
Update: April 16, 2026 (12:06 PM ET): A Google spokesperson has reached out to Android Authority and provided a response, defending how it handled the user’s data. Original article: April 16, 2026 (7:44 AM ET): US authorities routinely send requests for user data to tech companies. Google is no exception, but the company’s own policy states that it will generally notify people when authorities have requested their user data. However, a new legal complaint might motivate you to deGoogle your digital life.
A legal complaint by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) alleges that Google may have broken its own rules and given a user’s data to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) without notifying the user first. The user, Amandla Thomas-Johnson, is a foreign PhD student who apparently attended a pro-Palestine protest at Cornell University.
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Thomas-Johnson claims that he was forced into hiding amid a government crackdown on student protests, with federal agents looking for him at his home. He also claimed that a friend was interrogated at a Tampa airport in connection with his whereabouts.
Thomas-Johnson was visiting Switzerland weeks later when he received an email notifying him that Google had handed over his user data to the Department of Homeland Security. He didn’t receive an email from Google to notify him of the request.
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