On 7 October 2014, Twitter in a blog post said,"we were being prohibited from reporting on the actual scope of surveillance of Twitter users by the U.S. government”. Further, it said that by US laws if it were to go against the rule, its action could have criminal consequences. Twitter filed a lawsuit against the US government when preparing to file its Transparency Report.

Meanwhile, the US District Judge, Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, in a written order, found no reasonable evidence to suggest that the restraint was a danger to national security, the order allowed Twitter to continue the fight.

According to Reuters, since the First Amendment ensures rights including freedom of speech, Twitter’s case would be reviewed under this act. As of now, the companies are allowed to reveal from 0 to 499 federal requests made in six months period.

This lawsuit becomes relevant since the bigger stakeholders in such tech companies are the users whose information can be accessed through these social media accounts without a warrant.

In 2013, tech companies like Google, Microsoft, and Apple, in an open letter to the then President Obama to impose restrictions on government’s restrictions.

The US District Judge Rogers has scheduled the hearing of the case for next month.

News Source: TECH2