Hacker News Reader

Was it mandatory to comply with such a request? I was under the impression that mandatory court orders need to be signed by a judge (not a prosecutor).

View on HN

The request was signed by a Dutch prosecutor (Officier van Justitie) In the Netherlands, not complying can result in a jail sentence with a maximum of 3 months [1].

I do believe this request was pushing the legal boundaries as the law describes the request should be as specific and narrow as possible [0]. (with "as possible" being a rather big loophole)

(Dutch)

[0] https://maxius.nl/wetboek-van-strafvordering/artikel126nd

[1] https://maxius.nl/wetboek-van-strafrecht/artikel184/lid1#:~:...

Ah, I think a lot of the people questioning your choice to hand over the data are US based, where a warrant signed by a judge is legally binding, but a letter from a prosecutor has no such power.

Many companies will comply with a police investigation, warrant or not. You can't reply on third parties demanding a warrant before they release your information to someone with a badge.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com