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Twitter Will Hand Over Data On the User Who Sent a Seizure-Inducing Tweet To a Journalist (theverge.com)

Last week, an unidentified Twitter user tweeted a seizure-inducing animation at Newsweek and Vanity Fair writer Kurt Eichenwald, who has epilepsy. Now, Eichenwald has taken the first step toward identifying the user. In response to a civil suit filed by Eichenwald this week in Dallas district court, Twitter has agreed to hand over all relevant subscriber data for the user in question. The attack came in apparent retaliation for Eichenwald's aggressive coverage of President-elect Trump. From a report on the Verge: While Eichenwald has yet to file criminal charges, the civil suit was sufficient for an ex parte order from the district judge. Twitter subsequently agreed to expedited relief, declining to challenge the order or demand further evidence from Eichenwald. The next step is likely to be a lawsuit against wireless carriers or service providers implicated by Twitter's records, who will have records linking IP addresses and other metadata to the attacker's legal name.

11 of 492 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Sooooo by Bartles · · Score: 4, Informative

    There was a post on his account claiming to be his wife saying they filed a police report. Media has investigated and can fin no evidence of a report filed with various relevant police departments.

  2. Re:Um by crypticedge · · Score: 5, Informative

    You (and the summary) leave out some significant info.

    First - They've done this to him multiple times since September, knowing he has siesures
    Second - They've threatened to murder him, even left things on his doorstep
    Third - They broke into his Daughters school, leaving messages addressed to him threatening his daughter.

    Details are important, and this is far past the line for being able to prosecute criminally for harassment and threatening harm.

  3. Re: Um by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Not really the same. The post was literally "you deserve a seizure".

    It is interesting that infohazards will likely be handled legally about as they should be.

    http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/...

  4. Re:My Heart and my head by E-Rock · · Score: 2, Informative

    Yes, it was a flashing GIF that said, 'you deserve a seizure'. This was a deliberate attack.

    http://cdn2.ubergizmo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/twitter-seizure.jpg

  5. Re:Sooooo by tepples · · Score: 3, Informative

    In my experience, video on Twitter begins to play once it is fully scrolled in.

  6. Re:Sooooo by Bartles · · Score: 1, Informative

    He was just hurt that he was exposed as a lunatic on Tucker Carlson's show, so now he's lashing out. Go find the clip for a really good laugh.

  7. Re:Sooooo by JonnyCalcutta · · Score: 5, Informative

    It will be hard to prove in court that the sender actually suspected a seizure would result.

    The attached message 'you deserve a seizure' might be pretty good evidence. Sorry to get in the way of your rant though.

  8. Re:Resisting the Court by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    I have epilepsy.

    I can't speak for everyone, but I don't even get the opportunity to look away. By the time I've recognized that the image is harmful, it's too late.

    Seizures suck. They usually cost me a couple of days of work, cut up my lips and tongue (from biting) and damage muscles in my arms and legs. The person who sent that image needs to be prosecuted - they had a real intent to cause harm.

  9. Re: Um by Doctor_Jest · · Score: 2, Informative

    It takes a special kind of asshole to think that it's blaming the victim here. He has epilepsy. He knows he has epilepsy. Thanks to the Internet, everyone including your grandma knows he has epilepsy. If he was PRUDENT, he would have disabled ANIMATION AUTOPLAY. It's disabled by default on my browser and I don't have epilepsy. If he clicked "play" and got a seizure, well... the "victim" deserves to be blamed.

    That being said, I doubt it was the same level of intentional harm that has happened in the past. Because Kurt has been trolling Twitter for quite a while, poking people to get a response. Very nice and journalistic of him, to be sure. Note that this asinine behavior from a douche like Kurt doesn't excuse the specific attempts to harm him, this one seems simply a case of him being already unhinged after his appearance on the talk show and his 40-tweet rant about the CIA and Trump. Seeing the tweet with the words "you deserve a seizure" made him go finally full retard and threaten everyone with jail and fines and beatings because he was feeling butthurt.

    I read the whole thread in real time, so spare me the bullshit, AC. I know he's milking this for sympathy after his rant and implosion on Tucker Carlson's show.

    --
    It's the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man.
  10. Re:Resisting the Court by squiggleslash · · Score: 3, Informative

    He violated the ToS several times. He finally posted faked tweets in an attempt to harass another person on Twitter, and Twitter dropped the banhammer.

    This is all public domain. Why do you need it explained to you? Most conservatives don't do this, which is why most conservatives still have Twitter accounts, including Trump himself.

    (That said, right now, I'd close Trump's accounts but on national security grounds, not because of the ToS or because of his politics.)

    --
    You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
  11. Re:Um by AmiMoJo · · Score: 3, Informative

    I don't get why people try to defend things by saying "what about what so and so did?"

    Because that is the level of sophistication people who defend this stuff have. Their only defence is "this is war, so it's justified". They also think it helps to accuse people they don't like of doing all the things that they themselves are doing. Standard wartime propaganda.

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC