A federal appeals court has upheld a contempt of court ruling against the technology firm Lavabit, which shut down rather than disclose information to the U.S. government. Lavabit closed its secure email service after refusing to comply with a government effort to tap customers’ encryption keys. The FBI was targeting National Security Agency leaker and Lavabit user Edward Snowden. But instead of just targeting Snowden, the government effectively wanted access to the accounts of 400,000 other Lavabit customers. In his ruling, Federal Judge Steven Agee avoided ruling on the merits of Lavabit’s claims, instead saying the company made an error in its appeal. (See our interviews with Lavabit owner Ladar Levison.)