Twitter sues US Justice Department, FBI
October 7, 2014
Social media major Twitter filed a lawsuit in a California federal court Tuesday against the US Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The San Francisco-based social media company is seeking the right to provide users with more information regarding the extent and scope of government surveillance.
Twitter, like other Internet companies, is barred from publishing its full "transparency report," which documents government requests for user information. The current published report does not include the exact number of national security requests, even if no requests were received.
"We've tried to achieve the level of transparency our users deserve without litigation, but to no avail," Twitter said in a blog post Tuesday.
The company will be "asking the court to declare these restrictions on our ability to speak about government surveillance as unconstitutional under the First Amendment."
el/uhe (Reuters, AP)