Legal Guidelines (original) (raw)

Our users trust us to protect their privacy, and in some cases, their anonymity. Upholding that trust is central to everything we do. We take the responsibility of safeguarding our users’ information seriously, and we are committed to handling requests for user data in a way that respects both the law and our users’ rights.

Tumblr receives requests for user information from law enforcement agencies, government bodies, civil litigants, and private parties. Before revealing any non-public information about a site, an account, or a user, we require a valid subpoena, search warrant, or court order. The only exception is when we have a good faith belief that there is an emergency involving imminent danger of death or serious physical injury.

If your request or inquiry highlights a potential violation of our policies or Terms of Service, we will review it in accordance with our standard enforcement procedures. Please note that we reserve the right to take immediate action against sites or user accounts that are found to be in violation of our Terms of Service. This may include the removal of public access to individual pieces of content, or full site/account suspension – with appropriate user notification. This will not impact the availability of information for response to legal process that has been preserved as the result of an applicable request. More general information about Tumblr’s terms and policies is provided in our Terms of Service, User Guidelines, and Privacy Policy.

If you are an authority from an EU member state and need contact information, please use the email address in the Contact Information section below.

**Tumblr Believes in Protecting Expression, Privacy, and Due Process:

User Notice: Where legally permitted, Tumblr will notify users when their data is requested, unless we are prohibited from doing so by a valid nondisclosure order issued by a court in the US.

Information Stored by Tumblr

Tumblr is an open platform and most Tumblr information is posted publicly, you can view Tumblr blog posts, likes, and reblogs by simply visiting the appropriate Tumblr blog or tag page. You do not need a Tumblr account in order to view content posted publicly.

Tumblr collects and stores non-public user information in accordance with our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Many Tumblr accounts are created and used pseudonymously or anonymously, allowing users to express themselves without revealing real-world identities. As a result, any user information Tumblr collects may not correspond to a verified or identifiable individual, since Tumblr does not require identity authentication during account creation. The following is a summary of the information that we may collect and store.

  1. Basic account information, such as:
  1. Site creation, posting, and revision history information, such as:

Disclosure of Non-Public Information Requires a Valid Subpoena, Search Warrant, or Other Valid U.S. Governmental Orders

Tumblr is based in New York, USA and may disclose non-public account information only in accordance with our Terms of Service, Privacy Policy and applicable U.S. law, including the Stored Communications Act (18 U.S.C. §§ 2701–2712), and with a valid US Government Order such as:

Foreign law enforcement must use U.S. legal channels, such as letters rogatory or the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) process, to obtain this data.

Preservation and Information Requests from Non-US Law Enforcement Agencies

Law enforcement agencies from outside the US may request that we preserve information while the agency obtains a valid subpoena, search warrant, or court order from a court in the US, through the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) process. The MLAT is a mechanism by which a non-US law enforcement agency can obtain a US court order for information pursuant to a criminal investigation, as outlined in 28 U.S.C. § 1782 and 18 U.S.C. § 3512. While we may preserve information in response to requests from non-US law enforcement agencies pending the MLAT process, we will not turn over any actual user or account information until we receive a United States subpoena, search warrant, or court order. If, after 180 days from the date of requesting preservation, the non-US law enforcement agency has not provided documentation to us confirming that it has initiated the MLAT process, we will stop preserving the data.

If the non-US law enforcement agency requests that we keep the preservation request confidential from the affected user, we may do so at our discretion. We will only consider such requests if the agency’s request meets our criteria for authenticity, necessity, and timeliness, and only for the period of time necessary for the agency to obtain a court-issued nondisclosure order through the MLAT process described above.

How to Submit Law Enforcement Requests

Official law enforcement authorities may submit requests and legal processusing the designated form. The designated submission form and contact address listed therein is only for use by official law enforcement authorities. Tumblr will only disclose user information when required to do so by; a valid subpoena, search warrant, emergency law enforcement requests per 18 U.S. Code § 2702, or court order issued under applicable U.S. law.

We do not respond to requests from non-law enforcement parties using that form. Any requests submitted by individuals, private parties, or organizations without proper legal authority will not be processed. Instead, you may send your requests via our abuse forms.

Where permitted, we accept service via email to legal@tumblr.com.

If you need to serve us personally, you can do so at:

Tumblr, Inc.
c/o C T Corporation System
28 Liberty Street
New York, NY 10005

Receipt of correspondence by any of these means is for convenience only and does not waive any objections, including the lack of jurisdiction or proper service.

Requirements for Requests for Non-Public Information

We do not voluntarily provide governments with access to user data – whether for law enforcement, intelligence gathering, or surveillance purposes. However, when required by law, we will disclose user information only in response to valid legal process such as; a subpoena, search warrant, or court order issued by a U.S. authority, in accordance with the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and/or New York state law. The only exception is for emergency requests by law enforcement, for more information on emergency requests see the ‘Emergency Requests’ section below.

In response to valid legal process issued by a US authority, Tumblr may disclose data based on sufficiently specific identifiers.

All requests must accurately identify the specific Tumblr user account by unique identifiers such as; an email address, username at issue, or URLs of specific posts and/or comments. For post and comment URLs we require a link to the specific web addresses/post permalinks (Post permalinks are permanent links (URLs) to individual posts, and you can find instructions to locate them here). We are unable to process overly broad or vague requests for information.

Requests must also clearly identify the specific information requested, and the relationship of that information to the applicable investigation.

An order of sufficient legal scope is required for disclosure. For example, a valid subpoena issued in connection with an official criminal investigation is required to compel disclosure of basic subscriber records, as defined in 18 U.S.C. Section 2703(c)(2). Such records include length of service, registered email address(es), and registration IP, if any of the above is available.

A specific court order or search warrant is required to compel disclosure of additional IP address data, or the stored contents of any account, such as any non-public blog posts or messages.

Finally, provide a valid law enforcement email address with the request, so that we can communicate with you upon receipt. Tumblr will not respond to any law enforcement requests sent from a non-law enforcement email address.

User Notice

Tumblr respects its users’ rights to privacy and transparency. Tumblr’s policy is to notify its users about requests for their information, and to provide them with copies of the legal process underlying those requests. This notice is necessary so that affected users have the chance, if they wish, to challenge those requests.

In some cases, Tumblr may be prohibited by law from providing notice, such as when we receive a non-disclosure order pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 2705(b). In these situations, Tumblr’s policy is to notify the affected users after the non-disclosure period has elapsed.

In light of the October 19, 2017, Department of Justice guidance on nondisclosure orders, we ask that the agency include a specific end date for the nondisclosure period in any proposed order to the court, and that any period or extensions of time last no longer than a combined total of one year.

If an investigation involves exceptional circumstances – such as the sexual exploitation of a child – law enforcement should provide a description of the situation for Tumblr to evaluate. Upon review, Tumblr may delay or forgo user notice.

Withdrawing Requests

If a legal request is formally withdrawn before we provide user information in response to a valid subpoena, search warrant, or court order, we will not notify the user if requested to keep the withdrawn legal process confidential.

Requirements for Civil Cases

In a civil matter, it is our policy to turn over private user information only upon receipt of either (1) a valid order from a court in the US; or (2) a subpoena served from a court in the US as part of an existing lawsuit, which complies with Rule 45 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and/or the California Discovery Act. Litigants should ensure that any such requests comply with the US SPEECH Act, 28 U.S.C. 4101 et seq. We will not provide any non-public user content information in response to civil orders or subpoenas under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (18 U.S.C. § 2510 et seq. and § 2701 et seq.).

Requests must identify the specific information sought. Any requests for specific post(s) and comment(s) must include the specific URL link to the web addresses/post permalinks (Post permalinks are permanent links (URLs) to individual posts, and you can find instructions to locate them here).

Please note that we charge an administrative fee of USD $125/hour for compliance with validly issued and served civil subpoenas and court orders. We will bill for and collect this fee prior to furnishing information.

Preservation Requests

Preservation requests may only be submitted by government and law enforcement agencies conducting a criminal investigation in which the information sought is relevant. We will preserve records for 180 days in response to a valid request, which the government or law enforcement agency can extend upon request.

  1. Requests from U.S. Law Enforcement

When a U.S. government or law enforcement agency requests that a preservation remain confidential, Tumblr will honor that request for 45 days, with the expectation that a valid U.S. subpoena or search warrant will follow that includes the required certification under 18 U.S.C. § 2705(b) or a court-issued nondisclosure order.

If a nondisclosure order is provided along with the legal process, we will continue to keep the preservation request(s) confidential under the same conditions as the nondisclosure order for the subsequent subpoena/search warrant. If, after 45 days, law enforcement has not served a subpoena or search warrant with the required 18 U.S.C. § 2705(b)) court-issued nondisclosure order, and has not withdrawn the request for continued preservation, Tumblr will notify the user of the preservation request.

  1. Requests from Non-U.S. Law Enforcement

Tumblr can also preserve records in response to a request from non-U.S. law enforcement agencies, provided the request relates to a criminal investigation and the agency intends to pursue appropriate legal process through the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) or other established U.S. legal mechanism.

Tumblr will delay user notification for 10 days upon receipt of a confidentiality request. To extend nondisclosure, you must respond within that window and briefly explain how user notice would risk: (1) physical harm, (2) flight, (3) destruction of evidence, (4) witness intimidation, (5) delay of trial, or (6) serious jeopardy to the investigation. If approved, Tumblr will withhold notice for 90 days, with possible 90-day extensions while the MLAT process is pursued.

Preserved data will not be disclosed unless and until Tumblr receives a valid U.S. subpoena, search warrant, or court order. If no documentation is provided within 90 days confirming initiation of the MLAT process, Tumblr will cease preservation.

Emergency Requests

If law enforcement officials believe there is an imminent emergency involving death or serious physical injury to any person, and Tumblr may have information necessary to prevent the harm, they can submit an emergency disclosure request using the designated form. Such requests should include all of the following:

Tumblr users aware of an emergency situation should contact local law enforcement officials for assistance. For more information about user notification and Emergency requests, refer to the User Notice section above.

Matters Involving Child Safety

Tumblr reports any apparent instances of child exploitation it discovers to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), including information brought to our attention by government requests.

If a law enforcement request relates to a child exploitation or safety matter, those circumstances should be specified in the request. Include any NCMEC report information, if applicable, to ensure that appropriate action is taken as quickly as possible. Additionally be aware that when we receive legal process relating to child exploitation which is not accompanied by a validnondisclosure order, we will apply a 90 day delay before notifying the user(s) identified.