Twitter must keep certain national security details private, Judges Rules
The US can block Twitter from releasing details about the government’s demands for user information in national security investigations, a court ruled the same week that House Republicans should spy on national security officials over surveillance.
Twitter had protested the government’s redactions on a 2014 “transparency report” that provided a numerical breakdown of national security-related data requests from the previous year. The US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Monday agreed with a lower court judge that the Justice Department had shown a “compelling” interest in keeping the information private.
Based on classified and unclassified statements from government officials, the court was able to “assess why Twitter’s proposed disclosure would risk alerting our foreign adversaries to what is and is not being monitored — if at all,” US Circuit Judge Daniel Bress wrote for the three-person board.
A Twitter attorney referred a request for comment on the decision to the company; A company spokesman did not respond. A spokesman for the Justice Department declined to comment.
Crushing fight
Though the case is nearly a decade old, the ruling comes at a time when U.S. lawmakers and national security agencies are preparing for a pitched battle over changes to a key surveillance program.
Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which intelligence officials call a key authority, expires Dec. 31 unless Congress votes to extend it. US authorities are using the power to force internet and tech companies to release information about suspected foreign terrorists and spies.
Changes to Section 702 could include changing what companies like Twitter must do in response to government demands.
Former President Donald Trump, who is running for a second term in 2024, and conservative lawmakers have criticized the government’s use of FISA and other spy agencies and vowed to limit government powers affecting companies like Twitter. Conservatives have also taken up “the Twitter files,” information released by Elon Musk, Twitter’s new owner, about how the platform decided to deal with certain politically charged messages.
Government “arming”
The House Intelligence Committee plans to question national security officials about US spy programs during a hearing Thursday on global threats. Also on Thursday, a House of Representatives subcommittee on the federal government’s “arms education” is scheduled to hold a hearing on the Twitter files.
The case at issue in Monday’s decision involved efforts by Twitter to share information about two types of federal agency demands on the social media company: “National Security Letters” for subscriber information, which would cover metadata but not the content of electronic communications, and orders under FISA that may contain content.
“The government cannot ward off every challenge to the First Amendment by invoking national security,” Bress wrote. “But we must apply the First Amendment with due regard to the government’s overriding interest in ensuring the security of our country and its people.”
Bress echoed the opinion of Trump-nominated Justice Lawrence VanDyke and former President George W. Bush-appointed Justice Carlos Bea.
Learn how to navigate and build trust in your organization with The Trust Factor, a weekly newsletter exploring what leaders need to succeed. Login here.
