US tells Twitter to hand over WikiLeaks supporter's messages | Media
A member of parliament in Iceland who is also a former WikiLeaks volunteer says the US justice department has ordered Twitter to hand over her private messages. Birgitta Jonsdottir, an MP for the Movement in Iceland, said last night on Twitter that the "USA government wants to know about all my tweets and more since november 1st 2009. Do they realize I am a member of parliament in Iceland?" She said she was starting a legal fight to stop the US getting hold of her messages, after being told by Twitter that a subpoena had been issued. She said the justice department was "just sending a message and of course they are asking for a lot more than just my tweets." Jonsdottir said she was demanding a meeting with the US ambassador to Iceland. "It's not just about my information. Twitter would not comment on the case. Most of Twitter's messages are public, but users can also send private messages on the service. "I said it would be a bit of a prank to take him and see if they knew who he was.
Confirmed: #WikiLeaks demands Google and Facebook unseal US subpoenas (Guardian)
Kettling Wikileaks
For current political commentary, see the daily political notes. RMS' Bio | The GNU Project by Richard Stallman Note, a shortend version of this was previously published by the Guardian. Spanish Translation Norwegian Translation The Anonymous web protests are the Internet equivalent of a mass demonstration. Calling these protests "DDOS attacks" is misleading too. The proper comparison is with the crowds that descended last week (December 2010) on Topshop stores. I wouldn't like it one bit if my store (supposing I had one) were the target of a large protest. The Internet cannot function if web sites are frequently blocked by crowds, just as a city cannot function if its streets are constantly full of protests. In the physical world, we have the right to print and sell books. In the US, no law explicitly requires this precarity. Reading too is done on sufferance. In the physical world, we have the right to pay money and to receive money — even anonymously.
U.S. orders Twitter to hand over WikiLeaks records
What the Government Might Be After with Its Twitter Subpoena
After a member of Iceland’s Parliament and former Wikileaks volunteer, Birgitta Jónsdóttir, revealed on Twitter yesterday that Twitter has been subpoenaed for details on her Twitter account, Glenn got a copy of the subpoena. The subpoena was first submitted to Twitter on December 14, and asked for account information for six people as well as any account associated with Wikileaks, going back to November 1, 2009. Of particular note, they ask for: records of user activity for any connections made to or from the Account, including the date, time, length, and method of connections, data transfer volume, user name, and source and destination Internet Protocol address(es).non-content information associated with the contents of any communication or file stored by or for the account(s), such as the source and destination email addresses and IP addresses. Here’s what they might be after. As Glenn points out, three of the people covered by the subpoena were involved in the production of the video.
Ministers must 'wise up not clam up' after WikiLeaks disclosures | Politics
Civil servants and ministers need to 'be more proactive' in releasing information, Christopher Graham said. Photograph: Chris Young/PA The government should take the WikiLeaks revelations as a lesson that civil servants and ministers can no longer assume they operate in private, and "wise up" to a world where any official communication could be made public, according to the information commissioner. Christopher Graham, the independent freedom of information watchdog, told the Guardian that the website's disclosures had profoundly changed the relationship between state and public, in a way that could not be "un-invented". But he warned against "clamming up," saying the only response was for ministers to be more open. Speaking after weeks of revelations from US embassy cables published by WikiLeaks, he said: "From the point of view of public scrutiny, the web and the internet has empowered citizens. "We are strongly of the view that things should be published.
US wants Twitter details of Wikileaks activists
8 January 2011Last updated at 18:09 Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is currently fighting extradition from the UK to Sweden The US government has subpoenaed the social networking site Twitter for personal details of people connected to Wikileaks, court documents show. The US District Court in Virginia said it wanted information including user names, addresses, connection records, telephone numbers and payment details. Those named include Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and an Icelandic MP. The US is examining possible charges against Mr Assange over the leaking of classified diplomatic cables. Reports indicate the Department of Justice may seek to indict him on charges of conspiring to steal documents with Private First Class Bradley Manning, a US Army intelligence analyst. Mr Manning is facing a court martial and up to 52 years in prison for allegedly sending Wikileaks the diplomatic cables, as well military logs about incidents in Afghanistan and Iraq and a classified military video.
US subpoenas Twitter for accounts of two Wikileaks volunteers
The U.S. Justice Department has ordered Twitter to hand over data associated with multiple user accounts, in preparation for legal action related to Wikileaks. "There are many WikiLeaks supporters listed in the US Twitter subpoena," Wikileaks stated over Twitter tonight. UPDATE, 9:01pm PT: A copy of the order is here, and a copy of the court's unsealing order is here, via Salon's Glenn Greenwald. Among those targeted: Birgitta Jonsdottir, a member of Iceland's parliament who has worked with WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange. A Twitter spokesperson tells Boing Boing the company will not comment on specific legal requests, "But, to help users protect their rights, it's our policy to notify users about law enforcement and governmental requests for their information, unless we are prevented by law from doing so. From Threat Level: At The Nation, Mitchell notes: Update Coverage around the web now includes Declan McCullagh at CNET, Guardian, BBC News, New York Times.
