ACLU And EFF Want To Find Out Who Rolled Over (WL)

[EFerrari]

ACLU And EFF Want To Find Out Who Rolled Over When Gov't Came Calling For Info About Wikileaks
from the who-didn't-protect-its-users dept

While there's been plenty of attention paid to the US government's attempt, using a 2703(d) order (sorta like a subpoena, but not quite), to get info from Twitter on certain users who had a connection to Wikileaks, one of things that we pointed out at the time was the only reason we knew about the orders to Twitter was because Twitter fought the order. We wondered who else received such orders and just rolled over and handed over the data.

It appears that the ACLU and the EFF are asking the same question.

While (of course) it would appear that such info is being kept totally secret by the US government, those two organizations scanned the case numbers to determine that it appears four other similar orders were issued at the same time as Twitter's order -- and they'd like to know who those orders went to, in order to defend the users' right to privacy. The argument seems pretty sound here. Since these users are currently fighting the government's attempt to have Twitter hand over their info, shouldn't they have the right to fight against other services handing over their info?

Of course, the end result of this will almost certainly be a revelation of which four online services simply rolled over rather than defending their users' rights. Anyone want to take guesses as to who's on that list?

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110521/10065214370/aclu-eff-want-to-find-out-who-rolled-over-when-govt-came-calling-info-about-wikileaks.shtml

No more at link.

[TimLighter]

1. The ACLU And EFF want to know who leaked

Info About Wikileaks?

Now that's some funny stuff right there.

[EFerrari]

2. Oh, yeah. Hilarious when service providers hand over your information

to the government. A real knee slapper.

[Octafish]

3. Wonder if agents utter the ''Those who aren't with us are against us'' line?

Seems to work just swell in national security matters, ever since Poppy was a veep.

[EFerrari]

4. I'd be surprised if they had to work that hard.

Social media like twitter have the potential to simply expand the manipulations of the mass media into a first (user)name basis relationship on our desktops. Shutting down the net like Egypt did is, in a way, one of the less insidious choices a government can take.


Autocratic regimes fight Web-savvy opponents with their own tools

By Mary Beth Sheridan, Published: May 22

For weeks, Syrian democracy activists have used Facebook and Twitter to promote a wave of bold demonstrations. Now, the Syrian government and its supporters are striking back — not just with bullets, but with their own social-media offensive.

Mysterious intruders have scrawled pro-government messages on dissidents’ Facebook pages. Facebook pages have popped up offering cyber tools to attack the opposition. The Twitter #Syria hashtag — which had carried accounts of the protests — has been deluged with automated messages bearing scenes of nature and old sports scores.

“There is a war itself going on in cyberspace,” said Wissam Tarif, head of the Middle East human rights organization Insan, whose Web site has been attacked.

Syria offers just one example of the online backlash in countries ruled by authoritarian regimes. Although social media sites have been lionized for their role in the Arab Spring protests, governments are increasingly turning the technology against the activists.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/autocratic-regimes-fight-web-savvy-opponents-with-their-own-tools/2011/04/19/AFTfEN9G_story.html