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Democracy & Rule of Law · Report · File No. 261111-480

Appeals court orders narrower LinkedIn records demand in reporter leak probe

The Fourth Circuit said orders forcing LinkedIn to hand over journalists' messages with sources were too broad. The ruling sets a limit on how far the government can reach into reporters' private contacts.

By the Investigations Desk · · 2 min read

Every quote in this story (2) was matched word for word against its source. How we work

My clippings
Nicole Berner
Nicole Berner. Photo: Lisa McFarland, Fourth Circuit court photographer, Public domain

A federal appeals court on Tuesday told a lower court to narrow the journalists' records that LinkedIn must give the government in a leak investigation. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, based in Richmond, Virginia, found that the orders were too broad 1.

The government is investigating the leak of highly confidential military information to a news outlet that has not been named. It described the article at issue as revealing a top-secret U.S. military operation in a foreign country 1.

What the court said

A lower court had approved two orders. One required LinkedIn to produce records of journalists' messages with confidential sources, covering an 18-month period. The other barred LinkedIn from telling its users about the disclosure for one year 1.

Judge Harvie Wilkinson, appointed by President Ronald Reagan, wrote that neither the Stored Communications Act nor the Constitution lets a court approve orders that are "substantially overbroad." The Stored Communications Act is the federal law that governs when the government can demand electronic records from companies 1.

Confidentiality of sources is the lifeblood of a free press
Harvie Wilkinson, U.S. Circuit Judge, Fourth Circuit (Reagan appointee)1

Wilkinson did not throw out the government's request entirely. He denied LinkedIn's motion to quash, or cancel, the disclosure order in full, and he stressed that leaks of classified material can endanger people working in covert operations 1.

He said a district court must measure how overbroad a request is and "trim the more far-fetched reaches" of it. A magistrate judge had earlier ruled that some overbreadth is typical in records requests 1.

Why LinkedIn matters to reporters

More than a billion people use LinkedIn, including 94% of American journalists, according to a 2022 Pew Research Center survey. Wilkinson wrote that a journalist and a source can use the site to exchange information without any publicly visible connection 1.

The fight became public at a Sept. 15 hearing. Prosecutors want details on roughly 1,900 LinkedIn interactions involving six users, according to Politico's reporting as relayed by Raw Story. A judge approved the demand in June, and LinkedIn is challenging parts of the order 2.

Google, Apple, Meta, X, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press back LinkedIn's position 2. At that hearing, the government argued that companies like LinkedIn cannot challenge such orders on these grounds 2.

This does not confer upon government the right to silence.
Harvie Wilkinson, U.S. Circuit Judge, Fourth Circuit (Reagan appointee)1

What happens next

The case goes back to the lower court, which must now trim the request. The appeals court sealed many details, including the name of the news outlet 1.

Lawyers for LinkedIn and the government did not respond to a request for comment, according to Courthouse News. Judges Wynn, appointed by President Barack Obama, and Nicole Berner, appointed by President Joe Biden, agreed with Wilkinson 1.

That matters because the ruling came from a panel that included a Reagan appointee writing for judges named by both parties. The pattern is a court acknowledging a real national security interest while refusing to give the government wide access to reporters' sources. The ruling is a partial win: the government can still pursue records, but within narrower limits.

The Record

  1. A federal judge approved the Justice Department's demand for LinkedIn records and barred LinkedIn from notifying affected users (exact day not given in the reports) 2.
  2. The Fourth Circuit heard arguments, and the sealed dispute became public 23.
  3. The Fourth Circuit ordered the lower court to narrow the records request, finding the orders substantially overbroad 1.
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Sources

  1. Courthouse News, “Fourth Circuit narrows government request for journalists' LinkedIn records” (2026-11-10). courthousenews.com/fourth-circuit-narrows-government-request
  2. Raw Story, “Secret DOJ push for reporter's LinkedIn data alarms federal judges” (2026-09-15). rawstory.com/doj-2677863351/
  3. Editor & Publisher, “DOJ seeking reporter's LinkedIn records in secretive First Amendment court fight” (2026-09-16). editorandpublisher.com/stories/doj-seeking-reporters-linkedi

Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.

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