Re:US Department of Justice Subpoena to Twitter for Account ...
by DanielBMarkham on Saturday January 08, 2011 @10:07AM
(#2083141)
This is an interesting and important next step in the WL story.
From a political standpoint, somebody is going to have to pay somewhere. It will be interesting to see if they apply current law, create new laws, or work extra-judicially. My guess, and the way this article indicates the story is heading, is that they find some existing law to apply. After all, with a legal system as complex as the United States has, if they want you they'll find something you're guilty of. Remember that they got the gangster Al Capone not for breaking prohibition, gambling, or murder: they got him for tax evasion.
If they keep heading this way we all need to pay careful attention to what WL gets charged with, mainly because it will set a precedent for the rest of us.
Re:US Department of Justice Subpoena to Twitter for Account ...
by zacstewart on Saturday January 08, 2011 @02:40AM
(#2082579)
That's the first thing I said when I looked at it. Are all the people who've merely subscribed to them on Twitter considered part of the investigation? That's quite scary to me.
Re:US Department of Justice Subpoena to Twitter for Account ...
by pyre on Saturday January 08, 2011 @02:55AM
(#2082605)
I think that 'subscriber' refers to the account owner as they are 'subscribing' to Twitter's service (in the same way that your ISP considers you a subscriber).
> The following customer or subscriber account information
> for each account registered to...
That sounds to me like customer and subscriber are being used as synonyms. Maybe someone else more legal-headed can clarify.
Re:US Department of Justice Subpoena to Twitter for Account ...
by notahacker on Saturday January 08, 2011 @02:40PM
(#2083770)
What is interesting is that according to the Salon article, Twitter responded by requesting permission to disclose the existence of the subpoena to their customers, leading to the unsealing order that allowed for this document to be published.
Re:US Department of Justice Subpoena to Twitter for Account ...
by handelaar on Saturday January 08, 2011 @11:16AM
(#2083265)
There's something inherently hinky about lifting private communication from a member of the national parliament of a NATO member democratic state, then not telling anyone until a month later.
From a political standpoint, somebody is going to have to pay somewhere. It will be interesting to see if they apply current law, create new laws, or work extra-judicially. My guess, and the way this article indicates the story is heading, is that they find some existing law to apply. After all, with a legal system as complex as the United States has, if they want you they'll find something you're guilty of. Remember that they got the gangster Al Capone not for breaking prohibition, gambling, or murder: they got him for tax evasion.
If they keep heading this way we all need to pay careful attention to what WL gets charged with, mainly because it will set a precedent for the rest of us.
Wait, does this mean they are requesting information of people who follow WikiLeaks on Twitter?
I think they should be applauded for that.
http://salon.com/a/s3yIfAA
Also (German) http://goo.gl/Wnuup
see chat with @WLLegal on Twitter for more updates