The Trump administration has not been a stranger to tensions between world powers, citizens and most recently, technology companies. Diving into the complicated issue of digital privacy, Trump's administration reportedly sent out a summons to the American social media company Twitter
An alt-account, @ALT USCIS is an alternate twitter account that claims to be run by former or current government officials. Since gaining a multitude of followers, the account is a mouthpiece for criticisms towards Trump's immigration policies. Since Trump's inauguration in January, other alternate accounts, like @ALT USCIS have given critiques on President Trump's actions concerning controversial issues like climate change.
The strong remarks of the alternate account caused, according to Twitter's lawsuit, the U.S Customs and Border Protection to ask for a summons for records that could reveal the identity of the user or users behind the alternate account in March. Fiercely protecting the right to freedom of speech, Twitter stated that a "Compelled disclosure of the identities of Twitter users who have engaged in pseudonymous speech would chill their exercise of the constitutionally protected right to speak anonymously." Twitter continued to explain it's refusal to hand over the information, asserting that their "actions in providing a platform for the dissemination of its users' speech, including its decision to permit the publication of pseudonymous speech - is fully protected by the First Amendment." The First Amendment, an addition to the United States Constitution, states that American citizens have a right to express and speak their thoughts freely.
An attorney of the A.C.L.U, a national organization dedicated to protecting civil liberties, Nathan Freed Wessler expanded on the government's rights to internet privacy. Wessler stated that to "unmask an anonymous speaker online, the government must have a strong justification. But in this case, the government has no reason at all." This seems to have some truth, because one day after Twitter filed its lawsuit, the US federal government swiftly dropped its efforts to gain records from Twitter concerning the identity of the person or persons behind the alternate account. Consequently, Twitter also dropped its lawsuit against the US government.
The entire lawsuit between Twitter and Trump's administration reveals some deeper underlying tensions between Trump and technology companies. Following Trumps first ban of Muslims into the United States, a plethora of prominent companies in technology outwardly opposed the ban. Companies like Apple
With the Trump administration, nothing is certain. The strained relationship between tech companies and Trump only expands day by day. Nevertheless, the influence of tech companies in politics further blur the lines between business and legal orders. We have yet to see a happy relationship between tech businesses and the Trump administration.
- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/twitter-trump-lawsuit_us_58e6a5a9e4b0585892c9c5ab
- https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/06/technology/twitter-sues-the-government-to-block-the-unmasking-of-an-account-critical-of-trump.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Ftechnology&action=click&contentCollection=technology®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=10&pgtype=sectionfront&mtrref=www.nytimes.com&_r=0
- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/feds-abandon-effort-to-force-twitter-to-identify-owner-of-anonymous-anti-trump-account_us_58e7cc30e4b00de141032041?m8j
- http://money.cnn.com/2017/03/06/technology/tech-trump-travel-ban/
