Social media shouldn't be forced to be an arm of the government or the police.

That's the argument being made by Rutherford Institute founder John Whitehead in connection with a federal court order forcing Facebook to stop letting people know when authorities are checking their page for possible evidence. Facebook is fighting the order – and Whitehead concurs.

"When the government is looking for what you're saying on Facebook or other social media, you should definitely know," he tells OneNewsNow. "I'm really disappointed in the lawyers for the Trump administration who are serving search warrants on people and saying Facebook cannot tell these people they're being watched. I agree with Facebook."

Whitehead contends the government really doesn't need Facebook's help to gather data on suspects.

"They have total access to the information anyway," he said. "Amazon built ... a $650 million intelligence cloud for all of the intelligence agencies, so they know exactly what you're doing.

"But this is the kind of activity we do not want our government doing," the attorney continues. "Our government should be transparent. When they're investigating me, I should know they're investigating me and what they're wanting, so I can protect myself."

Whitehead says otherwise it would be like living in a regime where the government is watching and eventually will round people up, something he contends Americans don't want.