Supreme Court Denies Coinbase IRS Privacy Challenge

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case brought by Coinbase customer James Harper, who alleged that the IRS violated his Fourth Amendment rights by using a 'John Doe' summons to compel Coinbase to turn over user data. This decision lets stand lower court rulings in favor of the IRS, reinforcing the government's authority to obtain financial records from third-party platforms like Coinbase without individualized suspicion. Harper, along with amicus briefs from Coinbase and X (formerly Twitter), argued the IRS request was overly broad and infringed on privacy rights, urging reconsideration of the 'third-party doctrine.' Coinbase warned the decision could allow broader government tracing of financial transactions with minimal oversight. Both the Biden and previous Trump administrations supported the IRS's position as necessary for combating tax evasion. The Supreme Court's refusal is viewed as a setback for digital privacy advocates and leaves unresolved questions about the scope of personal data protections.