U.S. demands user data of prominent Wikileaks supporters from Twitter
According to the whistleblowing platform WikiLeaks, the U.S. government has demanded that the microblogging service Twitter hand over user data on prominent WikiLeaks supporters.
U.S. justice authorities have put legal pressure on Twitter, Wikileaks said Saturday, according to SDA. A federal court in Virginia is asking the network to hand over far-reaching information about communications related to Wikileaks to the authorities. Specific details about Twitter users, such as their addresses, are being requested. Twitter did not initially want to comment on the case and, according to the BBC, only said that it would inform users of all legal steps, provided that this was legally possible.
In addition to Assange, the people in whom the authorities are interested include a member of parliament from Iceland. The latter told the British newspaper The Guardian that she sees her personal rights at risk. The court in Alexandria, near Washington, is also seeking information about Twitter communications involving U.S. corporal Bradley Manning. He is suspected of leaking classified documents to Wikileaks. Manning is currently in custody in Virginia.
