Apple and Google ordered by U.S. to provide names, phone, other data on 10,000 users of this gun scope app

Apple and Google have been ordered by the U.S. government to hand over names, phone numbers and other identifying data of at least 10,000 users of a single gun scope app, Forbes reports Friday in an investigative feature.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is reportedly gathering information as part of a wider investigation into suspected breaches of weapons export regulations involving the scope this company makes, though the company itself isnt under investigation, according to the federal order.

This pattern of unlawful, attempted exports of this rifle scope in combination with the manner in which the ATN Obsidian 4 application is paired with this scope manufactured by Company A supports the conclusion that the information requested herein will assist the government in identifying networks engaged in the unlawful export of this rifle scope through identifying end users located in countries to which export of this item is restricted, the government order reads.

Its an unprecedented move: Never before has a case been disclosed in which American investigators demanded personal data of users of a single app from Apple and Google, writes Thomas Brewster, And never has an order been made public where the feds have asked the Silicon Valley giants for info on so many thousands of people in one go.

From Forbes:

According to a court order filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on September 5, investigators want information on users of Obsidian 4, a tool used to control rifle scopes made by night-vision specialist American Technologies Network Corp.