Tech giants have to hand over your data when federal investigators ask. Here’s why.

Apple, Microsoft and Google receive tens of thousands of requests each year to provide data about their customers, and often the companies are barred from notifying them

The Trump administration's Justice Department subpoenaed Apple and Microsoft for data from the accounts of lawmakers, their families and aides. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

SEATTLE — When the Trump administration’s Justice Department sought to ferret out leakers, it turned to the tech giants where so much of our digital life is stashed.

Apple and Microsoft disclosed last week that the agency secretly subpoenaed account data from members of Congress and aides to crack down on leaks during the Trump administration. That followed recent disclosures to media organizations including The Washington Post and the New York Times that the Trump Justice Department had secretly sought reporters’ phone and email records in an effort to identify the sources of leaks.

That information — which email addresses and phone numbers we use and when we use them — can be crucial to piecing together a leak in a probe.

Garland says Justice Department will strengthen policies for obtaining lawmakers’ records

And there is little the tech giants can do but comply. Because these subpoenas can come with a gag order, the companies were precluded from notifying customers that information was turned over. The data gathering became public only after those orders expired.

Here’s what you need to know.

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