Codebreaker

Twitter to give over information in British case?

John Moe May 26, 2011

Twitter is apparently prepared to give British investigators information about users accused of violating a “super injunction”. The injunction prohibits anyone from talking about the involvement of Ryan Giggs, a soccer player, in an extramarital affair. That sentence I just wrote is probably illegal in England. As a protest against this injunction, people have been tweeting about Giggs by the thousands. It’s been assumed that because Twitter is not based in the UK, nothing would come of this but Twitter now says it will provide information if it was “legally required” to do so.

What will be interesting here is what that information would be. Twitter is already a public place. So would user emails be forked over?

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.