Judge rules against Twitter transparency effort, citing national security: Six years ago, Twitter sued the U.S. government to detail the surveillance requests the company had received. However, a federal judge ruled in favor of the government’s case on Friday that detailing the requests would jeopardize the country’s security.
If Twitter announced the number of surveillance requests it received in each calendar quarter, it would “likely do serious or imminent damage to national security.” District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers completed after review of government classified information. See below for the full decision.
“Although we are disappointed with the court’s decision, we will continue to fight for transparency,” said Twitter in a statement on Saturday.
Stephen Shankland / CNET
The ruling shows the difficulties in reconciling privacy and security on the Internet. Public authorities and private communications have opened up a wealth of information that law enforcement and intelligence agencies can investigate, and people may not suspect the government is listening. On the other hand, encryption technology has also opened communication channels that are fundamentally impenetrable to the government and law enforcement.
in Twitter’s transparency reports company, which is now updated for a six-month period, publishes figures on law enforcement requests for information, copyright allegations, attempts to spread disinformation, abuse reports, and other occurrences. The company argued in its 2014 lawsuit that it should not be prevented from publishing detailed information on national security-related information requests.
“We believe that the government’s restriction of our speech not only unfairly affects our users’ privacy, but also violates our right to freedom of expression and open discussion of government affairs.” Twitter was arguing at the time.
Six years later, Twitter says transparency is still important to show how it interacts with governments.
“Transparency is a key guiding principle in Twitter’s mission to serve the public conversation. Freedom of expression is the cornerstone of our existence, and we strive at all times to help those who use our service and the public understand how governments do, including in the US interact with our company, “said Twitter in its statement. “We believe it is important that the public see the demands we receive and how we work to strike a balance between complying with local laws, supporting people’s ability to tweet, and protecting people from harm Find.”