A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) police officer looks on as law enforcement officers work to disperse the crowd to clear traffic driving into the ICE building, during a protest outside of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) headquarters, in south Portland, Oregon, U.S., October 6, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
The Chicago Sun-Times has threatened to sue the Department of Homeland Security for using its photos without permission on DHS's social media feeds.
"The Chicago Sun-Times is demanding the Department of Homeland Security remove its photos from government social media pages under threat of legal action after the paper says DHS repeatedly used its photos in posts," the newspaper posted Friday on X.
Sun-Times attorneys sent a letter Thursday night to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and the agency's acting general counsel listing three of the newspaper's photos it claimed were used without permission on its social media posts, Mediaite reported.
“These usages are blatant infringements” of the Sun-Times’ intellectual property rights, Steven Mandell, attorney for the Sun-Times wrote. He threatened to file a lawsuit for infringement if the agency did not remove the photos immediately from its social media accounts.
"Mazzara emphasized the Sun-Times' view that it was 'imperative' as a media organization that it 'maintains its independence in order to fairly report on government agencies,' and found DHS’ use of its photos 'particularly egregious' because it implied an endorsement of DHS’ activities, specifically its immigration enforcement actions," Mediaite reported.
According to Mazzara, the statutory damages for this type of infringement could be “up to $150,000 per violation,” the Sun-Times reported.