Flickr, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Awes.me, Inc. d/b/a Awesome, which operates Flickr.com and SmugMug.com (“Company”). These operational guidelines are provided for use by government and law enforcement officials seeking records about a subscriber of the Flickr or SmugMug platforms.
Legal Process
We will search for and disclose data that is specified with particularity in an appropriate form of valid legal process in accordance with applicable law, such as a subpoena, court order, or other valid legal process, as described below:
A subpoena issued in connection with an official criminal investigation is required to compel the disclosure of available basic subscriber information, as defined in 18 U.S.C. Section 2703(c)(2).
A court order issued under 18 U.S.C. Section 2703(d) is required to compel the disclosure of certain records or other information pertaining to a subscriber, not including contents of communications, in addition to basic subscriber information.
A search warrant issued under Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedures or equivalent state warrant upon a showing of probable cause is required to compel the disclosure of the stored contents of any account, which may include the contents of communications, in addition to basic subscriber information and other records or other information pertaining to a subscriber.
International Requests
Government and law enforcement agencies outside of the United States may obtain data through the following channels:
CLOUD Act Data Access Agreement. Where the requesting country has an executive agreement with the United States under 18 U.S.C. § 2523, qualifying orders may be served directly on the Company. Orders must comply with the applicable agreement's requirements, including certification by the foreign country's designated authority. The United States currently has such an agreement in force with the United Kingdom.
A Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) / Letters Rogatory. In the absence of an applicable executive agreement, a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty request or letter rogatory may be required to compel the disclosure of the contents of an account.
We will review and respond to properly submitted preservation requests while the international legal process is underway.
Preservation Requests
We will take steps to preserve information related to a subscriber pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 2703(f) and in connection with an official criminal investigation for 90 days pending our receipt of a valid preservation request, which may be extended for an additional 90 days by a valid request to extend the preservation. We do not retain data for law enforcement purposes unless we receive a valid preservation request before a subscriber has deleted that content from our service.
Submission of Requests for Subscriber or Account Information
Requests for information may be submitted electronically via email or below.
By Mail: Please confirm all requests via email in case of delays in receiving physical mail.
- Contact Name: Law Enforcement Response Team
- E-mail: lawenforcement@smugmug.com
Service Address:
548 Market St., STE 32047
San Francisco, California 94104-5401 US
All requests must identify the requested records with particularity, including the specific data categories requested and date limitations for the request, as well as include:
- Details associated with the relevant subscriber account, such as:
- User ID
- Username
- Phone number
- Email address
- ImageID
- Profile URL (e.g., flickr.com/photos/[username] or [username].smugmug.com)
- Name of the issuing authority and agent.
- Email address from a law-enforcement domain.
- Direct contact phone number to the issuing authority or agent
In order to ensure your request is appropriately scoped and does not seek more information than necessary, we ask that requests also include:
- A sufficiently narrow and defined time period
- A specific event or action associated with the relevant subscriber
- A specific reference to the account (e.g., profile URL, User ID, or email address)
Please note that Company records are self-authenticating pursuant to law and should not require the testimony of a records custodian. If a special form of certification is required, please attach it to your records request.
Acceptance of legal process or confirmation of receipt of correspondence by any of these means is for convenience and does not waive any objections, including lack of jurisdiction or proper service.
As provided by law, we may seek reimbursement for actual costs of preserving and producing unusual or burdensome requests for information. The Company does not provide expert testimony.
Child Safety
We report all apparent instances of child exploitation appearing on our site from anywhere in the world to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), including content drawn to our attention by government requests. NCMEC coordinates with the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children and law enforcement authorities from around the world. If a request relates to a child exploitation or safety matter, please specify those circumstances (and include relevant NCMEC report identifiers) in the request to ensure that we are able to address these matters expeditiously and effectively.
Emergency Situations
Under 18 U.S.C. § 2702(b)(8) and 2702(c)(4) the Company is permitted, but not required, to voluntarily disclose information, including contents of communications and customer records, to a federal, state, or local governmental entity if the Company believes in good faith that an emergency involving imminent danger of death or serious physical injury to any person requires such disclosure without delay.
Emergency requests should be submitted to lawenforcement@smugmug.com with "Emergency" in the subject line.
The Company will review and respond to emergency requests on a case-by-case basis.
Notice to Subscribers
It is our policy to notify subscribers of requests for their information prior to disclosure unless:
- We are legally prohibited from providing notice (e.g., by an order under 18 U.S.C. § 2705(b));
- An emergency situation exists involving a danger of death or serious physical injury to a person;
- We have reason to believe notice would not reach the actual account holder (e.g., a compromised account or invalid email address); or
- Notice would be counterproductive, such as in child exploitation cases
If we receive a National Security Letter (NSL) that includes an indefinite non-disclosure order, our policy is to seek judicial review of the order pursuant to the USA FREEDOM Act.
In cases where notice is not provided because of a court order or emergency situation, our policy is to provide notice to the subscriber once the applicable restriction has expired.
Please include the specific duration (e.g. 90 days) of any non-disclosure provision in your request for account information.
Note: Officer-authored affidavits, cover letters, or similar statements are not sufficient to preclude notice to our subscribers. A court order issued in accordance with 18 U.S.C. § 2705(b) or citation to an applicable statute is required to prohibit subscriber notice.
Bulk Surveillance
Consistent with these guidelines, the Company requires all requests for subscriber information to be limited to specific and known subscribers for lawful purposes. The Company does not participate in the collection of bulk subscriber information at any government's request. The Company opposes compelled backdoors and supports reforms to limit bulk surveillance requests.
Additional Information
We will not respond to correspondence sent by non-law enforcement or government officials to the addresses listed above or the form below.
The Company reserves the right to update these guidelines as necessary.