[governance] US Govt Aggressive, Successful in Obtaining Twitter User Data

[Riaz K Tayob]

Snip:
*the firm accused prosecutors of trying to force its employees to 
violate federal law.*

Published on Tuesday, July 3, 2012 by Common Dreams 
<http://www.commondreams.org>


    US Govt Aggressive, Successful in Obtaining Twitter User Data

- Common Dreams staff

The release of a 'transparency report 
<https://support.twitter.com/articles/20170002#>' by microblogging and 
social media company Twitter reveals that the US government is by far 
the most aggressive, and most successful, in seeking and obtaining 
private user information compared to other world governments.

Twitter's transparency report reveals the US government was the most 
successful in extracting information. (Photograph: Iain Masterton/Alamy) 
In the report, released late Monday, the US government is shown to be 
responsible for nearly 80% of all requests of Twitter user data. Of 
those US government requests, according to Twitter, 75% resulted in 
disclosure of "some or all" of the information related to the account.

Twitter says it notifies affected users of requests for their account 
info "unless we're prohibited by law."

The transparency report -- Twitter's first -- reflects government 
demands for information from January 1, 2012 through June 30, 2012. Out 
of all nations, the US made 679 user information requests out of a total 
of 849, compared with 98 requests from the Japanese government, 11 each 
from the Canadian and British governments and less than 10 from a number 
of other countries.

Twitter's move towards greater transparency follows an example set by 
internet giant Google, which has also release transparency reports in 
recent years.

According to reporting 
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/jul/02/twitter-transparency-report> 
by/The Guardian'/s Ed Pilkington, Monday's report came on the same day 
that "a Manhattan judge ordered the website to hand over almost three 
months of tweets 
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/02/twitter-release-occupy-prostest-tweets>from 
an Occupy Wall Street protester. Judge Matthew Sciarrino, ordering 
Twitter to turn over the tweets of Malcolm Harris under the handle 
@destructuremal, said that posting in public comes with "consequences".

*/The Guardian/*'s Matt Williams provides 
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/02/twitter-release-occupy-prostest-tweets> 
details on the case of Harris, who was among hundreds of protesters 
arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge during the height of the Occupy 
movement's activity in the fall of 2011:Malcolm Harris is accused of 
disorderly conduct in relation to an Occupy protest on the Brooklyn 
Bridge in October. (Photograph: Jessica Rinaldi/Reuters)

    In January, the New York County district attorney's office issued a
    subpoena to Twitter, calling on the firm to hand over "any and all
    user information, including email address, as well as any and all
    tweets posted for the period 9/15/2011 -- 12/31/2011".

    Harris initially attempted to block the move, but was told that he
    had no proprietary interest to his own messages.

    Twitter countered that this contradicts its own terms and
    conditions, which explicitly states that users "retain their right
    to any content they submit, post or display on or through".
    Moreover, in its own legal challenge to the subpoena, *the firm
    accused prosecutors of trying to force its employees to violate
    federal law.*

    Lawyers for Twitter also argued that under the Uniform Act,
    prosecutors would need to obtain a subpoena in California before it
    could demand documents from a company based in that state.

    Monday's ruling found that a search warrant was indeed needed for a
    final day's worth of tweets by Harris as they fell within a timeline
    laid out in federal law. All else was fair game for the prosecutors,
    the judge found.
    The court will now review the material and provide the relevant
    tweets to the DA's office.

    In a statement, Chief Assistant District Attorney Daniel Alonso said
    he was "pleased that the court has ruled for a second time that the
    Tweets at issue must be turned over".

    He added: "We look forward to Twitter's complying and to moving
    forward with the trial."

    Responding to the development, Harris's attorney Martin Stolar said:
    "I'm not surprised by the ruling, but I'm still disappointed by it."
    He added that he and Twitter could still mount a further challenge,
    stating that there was still "plenty of time to do that" before his
    client's next court appearance.

    Stolar suggested that the latest decision shows that the court fails
    to take into consideration 21st century developments when it comes
    to what should be covered under the fourth amendment. "That is
    somewhat bothersome," he added.

https://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/07/03

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