Twitter Inadvertently Released Some U.S. Government Surveillance Information

Twitter is suing the government for the right to publish information regarding how many requests it receives for user data and, in the process, revealed the upper limit of the amount of requests it received.

In the lawsuit, Twitter introduces exhibit 5, a copy of a letter it received from the DOJ outlining what it could and could not say.

It noted, for example, that Twitter could

“explain that only an infinitesimally small percentage of its total number of active users was affected by [government surveillance by] highlighting that less than 250 accounts were subject to all combined national security process…”

So, while this makes it way through the courts, we can rest easy knowing that the privacy of no more than 249 people using Twitter has been compromised by government snooping.

Twitter Suing US Govt Over Surveillance Gag Order

Twitter is seeking to publish more information regarding how many and what types of surveillance requests it receives from the US government. The Department of Justice effectively told them to keep their mouths shut and Twitter, on October 7, decided to sue the DOJ and the FBI for the right to publish the information.

You can view the whole lawsuit here.

Case Background

When the government wants a user’s information from a website like Twitter, Google, Yahoo, etc. they issue what are known as National Security Letters (NSL’s) to the provider which compels them to disclose “subscriber information and toll billing records information,” which are records of who a person is communicating with. The company that’s been served an NSL is legally prohibited from disclosing “to any person … that the FBI has sought or obtained access to information or records.” They are effectively compelled to cooperate and, at the same time, prohibited from talking about it.