Law Enforcement Requests
These guidelines are intended for use by law enforcement when seeking information.
Zinc will not release customer information without a valid and binding legal demand properly served on us. Zinc objects to over-broad or otherwise inappropriate demands as a matter of course. Zinc distinguishes between content and non-content information. We produce non-content information only in response to valid and binding subpoenas. We do not produce content information in response to subpoenas. We may produce non-content and content information in response to valid and binding search warrants.
Non-content - information means subscriber information such as name, address, email address, billing information, date of account creation, and certain purchase history and service usage information.
Content - information means the content of data files stored in a customerâs account.
Unless it is prohibited from doing so or has clear indication of illegal conduct in connection with the use of Zinc's products or services, Zinc notifies customers before disclosing content information.
Types of Requests
Subpoenas.
Subpoenas are valid and binding legal demands for information or testimony issued by courts, lawyers, law enforcement agencies, or grand juries, usually without any substantive review by a judge or magistrate. We produce non-content information only in response to valid and binding subpoenas. We do not produce content information in response to subpoenas. Zinc objects to over-broad or otherwise inappropriate subpoenas as a matter of course.
Search warrants.
Search warrants may be issued by local, state, or federal courts upon a showing of probable cause and must specifically identify the place to be searched and the items to be seized. We may produce non-content and content information in response to valid and binding search warrants. Zinc objects to over-broad or otherwise inappropriate search warrants as a matter of course.
Other court orders.
Other court orders refers to valid and binding orders issued by local, state, or federal courts, other than search warrants or court-issued subpoenas. For example, we may receive a court order, obtained by a government entity, seeking to remove user content or accounts. Such removal requests are reported separately in the statistics below. Our responses to other court orders depend on the nature of the request. Zinc objects to over-broad or otherwise inappropriate orders as a matter of course.
National security requests.
National security requests include National Security Letters ("NSLs") and court orders issued under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act ("FISA"). Our responses to these requests depend on the nature of the request. Zinc objects to over-broad or otherwise inappropriate national security requests as a matter of course. Zinc is prohibited by law from reporting the exact number of NSLs and FISA orders it receives. Therefore we report the numbers of such requests only within certain ranges set by the government.
Non-U.S. requests.
Non-U.S. requests include legal demands from non-U.S. governments, including legal orders issued pursuant to the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty process or the letters regulatory process. Our responses to these requests depend on the nature of the request. Zinc objects to over-broad or otherwise inappropriate non-U.S. requests as a matter of course.
How Zinc Responds to Requests
Full response. Full response means that Zinc responded to valid legal process by providing all of the information requested.
Partial response. Partial response means that Zinc responded to valid legal process by providing only some of the information requested.
No response. No response means that Zinc responded to valid legal process by providing none of the information requested.
Zinc reserves the right to respond immediately to urgent law enforcement requests for information in cases involving a threat to public safety or risk of harm to any person.
Zinc will seek reimbursement from the customer for costs associated with responding to law enforcement requests for information, particularly if the costs incurred are the result of responding to burdensome or unique requests.