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WikiLeaks Supporters' Twitter Accounts Subpoenaed

Posted by timothy on from the where-were-you-on-tuesday? dept.

HJED writes "The US Justice Department has served Twitter with a subpoena for the personal information and private messages of WikiLeaks supporters. There's a copy of the subpoena here (PDF); boing boing has a detailed article. Twitter has 3 days to turn over the information."

11 of 391 comments (clear)

  1. There is a threat to democracy! by owlstead · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There is a threat to democracy, quick, suspend all civil liberties!

    1. Re:There is a threat to democracy! by Steeltoe · · Score: 5, Interesting

      So, it's ok for authorities to lie, cheat, bribe, kill, torture, etc, and the very act of exposing them is a crime punishable by death or life imprisonment?

      It's also ok for authorities to use surveillance, covert-operations, false flag operations, etc., to ensure "peace and prosperity".

      You're so fucked.. Just watch your country go down in flames, and the same fucking politicians stepping up and "saving it", from the problems of their own creation!

      --
      http://www.debunkingskeptics.com/
  2. Shouldn't have a leg to stand on by walshy007 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Individuals are entitled to say as they wish to each other in their private lives, the moment that is stopped in the name of 'national security' when they are discussing politics is when you should get the hell out.

    To where is the only real question.

    1. Re:Shouldn't have a leg to stand on by walshy007 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I'd recommend a different action than "getting the hell out". Get elected and change the laws.

      Anyone who is ruthless enough to actually be elected normally does not deserve the position. To win you must be a master of both public speaking and doublespeak. After concessions are made to your ethics in order to gain the required popularity to win it is a slippery slope and by the time you get there (if you do) you become just as bad as those that were in power before you.

      Not saying I have the solution to it, only that there are another set of problems to think about.

    2. Re:Shouldn't have a leg to stand on by hedwards · · Score: 5, Informative

      If you'll notice from the subpoena, 2 of the names are Manning and Assange, the others are ones which I'm not familiar with. While the subpoena is somewhat light on the details, I would assume that whatever argument was given for the request complied with the normal rules. Otherwise they would have sent in a national security letter and avoided the courts.

      Under the Bush administration, they wouldn't have gotten a subpoena. Because they believed the President had unlimited powers when at war.

      Not that I'm thrilled with his performance, but a lot of that is the fault of people like you for failing to comprehend that there are differences, even if they're not as substantial as they ought to be. And at any rate, this is still a lot better than what McCain was offering up.

      Additionally, he has limited power as the President, he's been trying to close GITMO, but without the ability to move at least some of the inmates to US courts for trial and possible incarceration, it's really hard to get other countries to buy into taking them off our hands. Which is totally shocking that they'd expect us to eat our own cooking.

  3. Twitter knew since December 14th by data2 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Twitter has known about this for >3 weeks, but they were forbidden to tell the affected persons about it. It seems like to they had to go to court just to give them this information.
    News like this just makes me sad about the state of liberties in the USA.

  4. Hey Remember in those books... by Haedrian · · Score: 5, Insightful

    When you have a facist/nazi/evil/whatever state you have people getting taken from their homes for not supporting the glorious leader/fuhrer/overlord/whatever and protesting?

    Good times.

  5. What??? by Charliemopps · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So they are demanding the personal information of a Non-US citizen, that's not in the country and did not access Twitter from within the United States? Nor did any of them commit any sort of crime on US soil. Could a middle eastern country charge my wife for wearing a bikini to the beach in Florida and then demand her personal information from Twitter?

  6. Re:Icelandic MP supeanad by Husgaard · · Score: 5, Funny

    They do not have nukes, they have volcanoes.

    When they triggered one of them last year, it caused a lot more disruption to European air traffic than 9/11 did to US air traffic. And they know how to use their volcanoes right: During the incident Reykjavik airport was one of the few airports in Europe still open.

    I am pretty sure this was retaliation against the Brits abusing anti-terror legislation to freeze Icelandic assets.

    If you do not understand satire, you should not have read this...

  7. Rememeber 2007! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    When Yahoo executives grilled by US Congress over giving up private info of email accounts to China, which was linked to two guys jailed for "leaking state secrets."
    May be twitter can use that as a defense?

  8. Re:The need for psychiatric evaluation of gov... by Cwix · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What's wrong with this picture?

    The fact that you posted shortened urls, that no one is gonna look at?

    --
    You are entitled to your own opinions, not your own facts.