Twitter Sues US Government Saying Free Speech Restricted By National Security Laws
Tuesday 14 October 2014 @ 10.30 a.m. | IP & Media | Legal Research
As the debate over the new national security laws continues in Australia, other countries are also considering the issue of privacy and government surveillance over the internet. Last week, Twitter began a lawsuit against the US Department of Justice and the FBI, claiming that the US Government was violating its rights to free speech under the First Amendment.
Twitter would like to publish information about how many requests for information it receives (including FBI “National Security Letters” and court orders under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act 1978 (US)). However, a previous agreement between the Government and major Internet companies allows reporting only in broad ranges (e.g. between zero and 999 orders). Twitter says they can’t report an exact number, even if the number is zero.
Twitter’s court filing says:
“These restrictions constitute an unconstitutional prior restraint and content-based restriction on, and government viewpoint discrimination against, Twitter’s right to speak about information of national and global public concern. Twitter is entitled under the First Amendment to respond to its users’ concerns and to the statements of U.S. government officials by providing more complete information about the limited scope of U.S. government surveillance of Twitter user accounts - including what types of legal process have not been received by Twitter.”
The US Department of Justice responded to reports of the lawsuit by saying that the range reporting system was developed by other major technology companies “to allow tech companies to provide broad information on government requests while also protecting national security.”
The American Civil Liberties Union welcomed the lawsuit, telling the BBC that they:
“hope other technology companies will now follow Twitter’s lead… Technology companies have an obligation to protect their customers' sensitive information against overbroad government surveillance, and to be candid with their customers about how their information is being used and shared.”
According to Wired, Twitter’s challenge may have been encouraged by a court decision last year filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation on behalf of an unidentified ISP, where “a U.S. District Judge ruled that so-called National Security Letters that come with an automatic gag order on the recipient are an unconstitutional impingement on free speech.”
Although Australia doesn’t have a Bill of Rights, the case demonstrates that internet companies are increasingly willing to act behalf of their users to actively contest any government surveillance they feel is an overreach. The companies are also not just restricting themselves to legal challenges – for example, Apple and Google have recently announced that their new mobile operating systems will be encrypted by default.
The third tranche of national security legislation that will deal with metadata has yet to be introduced into the Australian Parliament.
TimeBase is an independent, privately owned Australian legal publisher specialising in the online delivery of accurate, comprehensive and innovative legislation research tools including LawOne and unique Point-in-Time Products.
