Or, it could be that they didn't get a warrant, and don't want to get into the habit of giving the government things without a warrant (or, given that it's a bi

Or, it could be that they didn't get a warrant, and don't want to get into the habit of giving the government things without a warrant (or, given that it's a big US internet corporation, something political in return would probably also work). I'm not saying they're nice, they're not. But it's probably for the best that they don't (or didn't, again, it was 10+ years ago) give government everything they ask for without a warrant. I repeat the question: why would it be so hard to get a warrant?