The US Supreme Court has refused to hear a long-standing case regarding the Internal Revenue Service's request for information on thousands of Coinbase users. In a decision made on Monday, the court denied a petition from a Coinbase customer, James 'Jim' Harper, who argued that the IRS's 2016 request for user data violated his Fourth Amendment rights. Harper initially filed a lawsuit against the IRS in 2020 after receiving a letter warning him that he may have failed to report income from crypto transactions.
The plaintiff claimed that the IRS's use of a 'John Doe summons' to obtain user data from Coinbase was unconstitutional, as it allowed the agency to access private information without judicial process. Despite Harper's appeals, lower courts have consistently ruled in favor of the IRS, citing the agency's broad authority to issue summonses. The Supreme Court's decision not to hear the case means that the lower court's ruling will stand, leaving the IRS's actions in this matter unchecked.
The case had garnered significant attention, with several high-profile companies and think tanks filing amicus briefs in support of Harper's petition, arguing that the court should review the third-party doctrine, which allows government agencies to access information shared with third parties without a warrant.