A US federal appeals court has directed a lower court to narrow an order requiring LinkedIn to hand over journalists’ communications to the Trump administration as part of an investigation into a classified information leak.

A three-judge panel of the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously on Tuesday that the government cannot demand blanket disclosure of a wide range of records belonging to the journalists.

The panel said such broad disclosure could expose confidential sources unrelated to the investigation, undermine informed public discourse and harm democratic institutions.

The court, however, rejected LinkedIn’s request to overturn the disclosure order entirely, ruling that journalists’ First Amendment rights must be balanced against the government’s responsibility to protect national security information.

The investigation began after an unidentified news organisation published a report detailing a top-secret US military operation in a foreign country.

The original order covered an 18-month period during which the journalists had published nearly 1,000 stories on various subjects. It would have exposed all confidential sources who communicated with them through LinkedIn during that period.

The appeals court sent the case back to US District Judge Elizabeth Hanes, directing her to revise and narrow the disclosure order.