A Developer’s Guide to Responding to National Security Letters

When law enforcement agencies like the FBI reach out to tech companies for information, they can show up at the office and deliver a sealed envelope. National Security Letters (NSLs) are unusual requests because they're secretive and don't require court oversight. However, companies like Twilio have started requesting judicial review to see if the nondisclosure requirements are necessary. After reviewing their NSLs, some agencies dropped the nondisclosure requirement, allowing companies to notify users and include the number of requests in transparency reports. Companies can push back on default government requests and issue an initial objection response that requests review. If a company receives an NSL, it should respond with the requested information, notify customers, update its transparency report, and publish the request and agency response. Adopting this process promotes transparency, accountability, and oversight, but there's still room for improvement in terms of full oversight and disclosure.

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