Coinbase Files Brief in Supreme Court to Protect User Data Privacy
Coinbase (COIN) submitted a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court regarding an IRS request for data on its customers, asserting the need to protect privacy in digital information held by third parties.
The IRS sought financial records from Coinbase in 2017, claiming that sharing information with a third party negated privacy rights. Coinbase contested this, ultimately delivering a narrower data set.
Key points from Coinbase's argument include:
- The court should clarify that the third-party doctrine does not permit the IRS to conduct broad searches.
- User anonymity is compromised when the government can link identity to blockchain addresses.
- The summons violated the privacy expectations of over 14,000 Americans against warrantless searches.
In 2020, customer James Harper sued the IRS for overreach in its demands. The Department of Justice counters that individuals have no reasonable expectation of privacy for information provided to third parties.