Middle District of Tennessee finds administrative subpoenas to be sufficient to get Kik Account data and IP information without a warrant or Stored Communications Act Order.

In this case, the Government obtained information from the Defendant’s Kik account, including subscriber information. They did so through the use of an administrative subpoena. The defendant claimed that this required a warrant or a court order which was not obtained. When this motion to suppress was denied, the Defendant moved to reconsider.

In a brief order, the Court denied the motion. The Court ruled that an administrative subpoena is authorized by the Stored Communications Act, and is therefore, legal, without any discussion of how that section of the Stored Communications Act regarding administrative subpoenas may be circumscribed by Carpenter.

The case is United States v. Carter, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 206222, (M.D. TN) December 6, 2018.