Click here to show or hide the menubar.

Home >  Archive >  2012 >  May >  9

Previous / Next

Is Twitter right?
By Dave Winer on Wednesday, May 09, 2012 at 8:26 AM.
Twitter is getting all kinds of kudos for not turning over the tweet history of a user in response to a New York State subpoena. But what are the facts of the case, and is Twitter doing the right thing? permalink
Here's a BBC story on the issue, and one from the ACLU.  permalink
Here's the question -- were these public tweets? If so, that's like asking for the archive of a blog.  permalink
Which raises another question. Yes we know that Twitter's archive is unreliable, that after a certain period of time tweets become inaccessible unless you have a direct link to them. What that period is is uncertain. And why you can access them when they are inaccessible is another mystery.  permalink
Is the State of New York just asking for help working around a glitch in Twitter's software? permalink
What is Twitter's explanation? permalink
Now, if this user's tweets were private, that's another matter. I would say it's still a gray area, that the tweets are somewhere between public and private. Does Twitter's terms say what's a permissible use of a private tweet that you have access to? permalink
A picture named nypd.gifNeither of the two articles dive into this story in enough depth to ask these questions, which imho are crucial to deciding whether or not Twitter is acting correctly. permalink
Also, btw, to NYS which I happen to be a resident of -- this is ridiculous. These people are citizens exercising their First Amendment rights. There were a lot of people at the Brooklyn Bridge that day, and it wasn't clear what the police instructions were. Why don't you work with the citizens. These are the people you work for -- aren't they? Please. Pick your battles. permalink
Another btw to NYS, even though I think what you're doing is wrong, you might check with the Library of Congress. They have a complete archive of the flow of Twitter. Our tax dollars at work! (He said sarcastically, the government has no business investing taxpayer dollars in private companies.) Thanks to @dannyhorowitz for the link. permalink
This site contributes to the scripting.com community river.


© Copyright 1997-2012 Dave Winer. Last update: Wednesday, May 09, 2012 at 8:52 AM Eastern. Last build: 5/31/2012; 9:36:17 AM. "It's even worse than it appears."

RSS feed for Scripting News

Previous / Next