national security letter

A demand issued by U.S. federal agencies (FBI, Secret Service, CIA) to disclose customer records without a warrant, court order, or probable cause. NSLs come with an automatic gag order: the recipient can't tell anyone they received one, including the target. The agencies cite national security; critics note they're used broadly for routine investigations and have near-zero judicial oversight. In the registrar and hosting context, an NSL can force disclosure of domain registration data, IP logs, and communication records. Unlike a subpoena, it bypasses the court entirely. The recipient has limited appeal rights and faces criminal penalties for disclosure. Bunkerdomains takes no NSL requests because we operate outside U.S. jurisdiction and don't keep the data they'd ask for anyway—no email logs, no payment trails beyond crypto, no forwarding history. If you're operating a legitimate privacy service or hosting politically sensitive content, NSLs remain a real threat vector for U.S.-based registrars and hosters.