Twitter Loses Appeal in Court Case Involving Trump’s Account
Twitter has lost its appeal of a court ruling that held the company in contempt for failing to promptly respond to a search warrant seeking information related to the Twitter account of former president Donald Trump. The original ruling, which also carried a $350,000 sanction, was issued in March.
- The case is part of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
- Twitter complied with the search warrant but details of the information provided are not disclosed.
- The government had trouble serving Twitter with the search warrant and nondisclosure order, as the website was inoperative.
- Twitter resisted the nondisclosure order, arguing that it violated its First Amendment rights.
- The three-judge panel in the D.C. circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals rejected Twitter’s arguments and affirmed the government’s assertion that the gag order “serves a compelling government interest.”
Social media companies and the federal government have been in a battle over disclosing private user information. Critics argue that nondisclosure orders prevent companies from providing meaningful notice to affected users. Twitter is working on implementing end-to-end encryption for Direct Messages on its platform. For now, encrypted messaging is only available to paid subscribers and verified users.
Hot Take: The court’s rejection of Twitter’s appeal highlights the ongoing struggle between social media companies and the government over user privacy and data disclosure.
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