Twitter Sues U.S. Government

[HardOCP News]

Damn, this is going to be good. Pass the popcorn please.

Twitter, the world’s largest microblogging platform, on Tuesday sued the U.S. government, alleging that the Justice Department’s restrictions on what the company can say publicly about the government’s national security requests for user data violate the firm’s First Amendment rights.

 

[m heisty]

First amendment rights are irrelevant when the "national security" card is played. Sad but true. Now nothing can be done if twitter is "hacked" and their outcome is leaked.

 

[k1pp3r]

Could you imagine the box of worms that would get opened up if companies could disclose EVERYTHING the gov requested!

 

[Gafferking]

When is Snowden going to sue?

 

[JeffDC]

First amendment rights are irrelevant when the "national security" card is played. Sad but true. Now nothing can be done if twitter is "hacked" and their outcome is leaked.

The errant belief that the above claims are categorically true is precisely what converted the Weimar Republic into the Third Reich.

If you or anyone can locate the words "except for special circumstances" anywhere in our Bill of Rights, please help me locate them, cuz I've been looking for 13 years now, and no matter what a corrupted to near-uselessness SCOTUS might claim, the phrase simply does not exist. Those four magic and entirely conjured words have entirely negated our Fourth Amendment at our airports and borders, our First Amendment while online and even when we're not, and bit by bit the Weimar Republic becomes the Third Reich.

Read a book called "Terrorizing Ourselves" by the Cato Institute if you wish to know who is actually pushing this relentless destruction of our Constitution. You might be surprised, they're not even Arab.

 

[jojo69]

who knows, perhaps we will be better off under corporations than we were under governments

 

[Madoc]

I wish Twitter the best, but I think they're pissing against the wind on this one.

 

[Seventyfive]

In other news, Twitter announces they are being audited by the IRS

 

[JeffDC]

who knows, perhaps we will be better off under corporations than we were under governments

That statement incorrectly presupposes we haven't been under corporations for 240 years. What's new since Nixon and Reagan is that even the pretexts of for and by the people have been dispensed with, e.g. ask anyone in Congress who the "senator from Sony" is and they'll send you to Orrin Hatch's office to find out.

 

[CPY]

who knows, perhaps we will be better off under corporations than we were under governments

I think i saw that in a movie once, it was horrible, but that's just movie, it might be better in reality.

 

[m heisty]

The errant belief that the above claims are categorically true is precisely what converted the Weimar Republic into the Third Reich.

If you or anyone can locate the words "except for special circumstances" anywhere in our Bill of Rights, please help me locate them, cuz I've been looking for 13 years now, and no matter what a corrupted to near-uselessness SCOTUS might claim, the phrase simply does not exist. Those four magic and entirely conjured words have entirely negated our Fourth Amendment at our airports and borders, our First Amendment while online and even when we're not, and bit by bit the Weimar Republic becomes the Third Reich.

Read a book called "Terrorizing Ourselves" by the Cato Institute if you wish to know who is actually pushing this relentless destruction of our Constitution. You might be surprised, they're not even Arab.

I am not saying they exist in the bill of rights, however they do exist in statues of law. Exemptions have been given for national security secrets.

I'm not saying I agree or disagree with these exceptions. Just saying they exist.

 

[Grimlaking]

If they do this in a court of the people wouldn't the evidence then be exposed to the people of the us? I mean if they are suing over required cooperation by the anarogencies wouldn't they present evidence of the information being demanded?

 

[JeffDC]

I am not saying they exist in the bill of rights, however they do exist in statues of law. Exemptions have been given for national security secrets.

I'm not saying I agree or disagree with these exceptions. Just saying they exist.

Understood. I'm countering by saying overstatement and a defeatist attitude accomplish nothing except to further the problem.

 

[lcpiper]

Could you imagine the box of worms that would get opened up if companies could disclose EVERYTHING the gov requested!

Sure I can, and what it would come down to is that almost everything they ask for is directly related to requests for information on foreign nationals who have accounts on US business systems, and/or, US Citizens who are in close contact with Foreign nationals who are suspected of being bad actors.

And yes this is going to go no where, but it might still be good publicity thereby saving it from being a complete waste of time.

 

[Skripka]

Understood. I'm countering by saying overstatement and a defeatist attitude accomplish nothing except to further the problem.

It is realistic.

People having been (rightfully IMHO) griping about "Corporation are people" from Citizen's United. Tomorrow, we (as a nation) could call a constitutional convention to pass what I call the 28th Amendment to the US Constitution:

People are people. Corporations are corporations. And corporations are not people

We as a nation could do that. And given the simmering dislike of "corporations are people" we could have my 28th Amendment be law by the end of the month, or by the end of the year. We could have done it already. Guess what? Never going to happen. That ain't defeatist, it is realizing how things are.

 

[Tak Ne]

Capitalism & greed v think of the children.... nobody can win

 

[CreepyUncleGoogle]

Understood. I'm countering by saying overstatement and a defeatist attitude accomplish nothing except to further the problem.

Um, what problem are you talking about?

 

[JeffDC]

Um, what problem are you talking about?

IMO the root problem is a SCOTUS that hasn't done its job in 30 years, and thanks directly to their failure, the wholesale collapse of constitutional government in our country. The 911 Hysteria Machine has sprung wings of its own and will continue attacking our Constitution with or without an actual reason to do so. It's all about paycheck protection at this point and nothing will stop it except public outrage or bankruptcy, whichever occurs first. Every dime of my money is bet on the second of those.

 

[the_servicer]

Read a book called "Terrorizing Ourselves" by the Cato Institute if you wish to know who is actually pushing this relentless destruction of our Constitution. You might be surprised, they're not even Arab.

Is it really worth a read? The going price on Amazon is a penny plus shipping. I might have to check it out.

 

[Dimethyltryptamine]

Twitter, accidentally get hacked and all of that stuff leaked. It's not your fault.

 

[CreepyUncleGoogle]

IMO the root problem is a SCOTUS that hasn't done its job in 30 years, and thanks directly to their failure, the wholesale collapse of constitutional government in our country. The 911 Hysteria Machine has sprung wings of its own and will continue attacking our Constitution with or without an actual reason to do so. It's all about paycheck protection at this point and nothing will stop it except public outrage or bankruptcy, whichever occurs first. Every dime of my money is bet on the second of those.

Oh, I guess that's pretty reasonable. I don't think people are exactly hysterical though, but things are different now. It's not really an attack on the Constitution either. I mean, the whole point of the government was to be flexible and change to suit the times we're living in. When those rich old guys from 200+ years ago wrote it, they didn't know that Google would be data mining every keystroke you put into Chrome or watching your location from your phone GPS like all the time. They also didn't really get it that the population density would be higher and a lot more people would be really just be more dumb because of reality TV and those Monster energy drinks people constantly slurp up. So the things happening now are changes and they're changes we really kinda need to get closer to a social society where things are properly managed by a central authority that finally has the technology to do it instead of leaving it up to states or those weirdos who make town ordinances and form silly home owners' associations that no one really takes seriously. I'm all for a bigger central power since it can actually work now where it made sense to be all angry-faced about it before because it'd take like 6-8 weeks just to deliver the stuff you ordered from a TV ad since the letter had to get to the company, they had to cash the check via mail, and then ship stuff back to you. Ugh...seriously I can't imagine how much that was annoying to geezers like my parents to have to wait that long for a Slap Chop. Thanks to faster communications, we can like almost arrest people via Facebook and Twitter and have them under like virtual house arrest in seconds. It's cool and the Federal government needs to get bigger to handle that kinda stuff. Meow!

 

[JeffDC]

Is it really worth a read? The going price on Amazon is a penny plus shipping. I might have to check it out.

For used. The hardcover is still fetching just under $20, not bad for its age.

Definitely worth the read imo. Very well researched and referenced. Cato doesn't publish junk.

 

[blandead]

Oh, I guess that's pretty reasonable. I don't think people are exactly hysterical though, but things are different now. It's not really an attack on the Constitution either. I mean, the whole point of the government was to be flexible and change to suit the times we're living in. When those rich old guys from 200+ years ago wrote it, they didn't know that Google would be data mining every keystroke you put into Chrome or watching your location from your phone GPS like all the time. They also didn't really get it that the population density would be higher and a lot more people would be really just be more dumb because of reality TV and those Monster energy drinks people constantly slurp up. So the things happening now are changes and they're changes we really kinda need to get closer to a social society where things are properly managed by a central authority that finally has the technology to do it instead of leaving it up to states or those weirdos who make town ordinances and form silly home owners' associations that no one really takes seriously. I'm all for a bigger central power since it can actually work now where it made sense to be all angry-faced about it before because it'd take like 6-8 weeks just to deliver the stuff you ordered from a TV ad since the letter had to get to the company, they had to cash the check via mail, and then ship stuff back to you. Ugh...seriously I can't imagine how much that was annoying to geezers like my parents to have to wait that long for a Slap Chop. Thanks to faster communications, we can like almost arrest people via Facebook and Twitter and have them under like virtual house arrest in seconds. It's cool and the Federal government needs to get bigger to handle that kinda stuff. Meow!

Bigger does not mean more efficient/better benefits. You should try making some valid arguments before ranting about people becoming less intelligent. I don't see how ordering pork chops faster means we need a bigger government.

 

[CreepyUncleGoogle]

Bigger does not mean more efficient/better benefits. You should try making some valid arguments before ranting about people becoming less intelligent. I don't see how ordering pork chops faster means we need a bigger government.

I wish you'd just come out and say you don't like the Slap Chop instead of leading us all into some roundabout strange argument that only gets to the point after like 20+ crazy posts about governance and lawsuits. So stop being shocked that I knew what you were getting at even before you and admit it so we can move the discussion along. Thanks.

 

[spintroniX]

...

If you or anyone can locate the words "except for special circumstances" anywhere in our Bill of Rights......

the bill of rights is nothing but a paper tiger. It has no power, nor does the constitution as a broader whole. Quit clinging to magical pieces of paper as if they will protect you.

 

[k1pp3r]

the bill of rights is nothing but a paper tiger. It has no power, nor does the constitution as a broader whole. Quit clinging to magical pieces of paper as if they will protect you.

You know, by that argument, there is no such thing as a Legally Binding document. therefore contracts, agreements, NDA's, anything written on paper has no power. But yet the money in your pocket demonstrates power every single day.

 

[the_servicer]

I ordered it.

Definitely worth the read imo. Very well researched and referenced. Cato doesn't publish junk.