Twitter sues US govt to protect 'Department of Immigration employee' who doesn't like Trump
Because it's 2017 and nothing really makes sense any more
Twitter has sued the US Department of Homeland Security over its demands that the microblogging site unmask an anonymous anti-Trump account.
In a filing [PDF] with the Northern California US District court, Twitter asks that the DHS be enjoined from requesting identifying information on a "rogue" Twitter account said to be controlled by someone at the US Customs and Immigration Service.
Twitter says DHS agents have approached the biz demanding details that could be used to identify the person behind the @alt_uscis account, a rogue account that posts links and statements critical of the Trump administration. Now it wants the courts to step in and block the agents from demanding to see the data.
"The Supreme Court has long recognized the extraordinary value of the kind of speech emanating from these accounts – pure political speech criticizing government policies and highlighting government waste and mismanagement," Twitter writes in its complaint.
"And the Court has likewise recognized that anonymity is often essential to fostering such political speech where, as here, the speaker could face retaliation or retribution if his or her real identity were linked to the speech."
The suit claims that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents have been demanding to see the data under the authority of US Code § 1509, a law that allows agents to view company records when investigating taxes due on imports.
Because it's 2017 and nothing really makes sense any more
Twitter has sued the US Department of Homeland Security over its demands that the microblogging site unmask an anonymous anti-Trump account.
In a filing [PDF] with the Northern California US District court, Twitter asks that the DHS be enjoined from requesting identifying information on a "rogue" Twitter account said to be controlled by someone at the US Customs and Immigration Service.
Twitter says DHS agents have approached the biz demanding details that could be used to identify the person behind the @alt_uscis account, a rogue account that posts links and statements critical of the Trump administration. Now it wants the courts to step in and block the agents from demanding to see the data.
"The Supreme Court has long recognized the extraordinary value of the kind of speech emanating from these accounts – pure political speech criticizing government policies and highlighting government waste and mismanagement," Twitter writes in its complaint.
"And the Court has likewise recognized that anonymity is often essential to fostering such political speech where, as here, the speaker could face retaliation or retribution if his or her real identity were linked to the speech."
The suit claims that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents have been demanding to see the data under the authority of US Code § 1509, a law that allows agents to view company records when investigating taxes due on imports.
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