Twitter sues US for requesting data account with criticism of Trump

Twitter has filed a lawsuit against the US state for requesting data from an anonymous account. That account, with more than 100,000 followers, regularly posts critical messages about President Donald Trump and his administration.

It’s about the account ALT_Uscis, which mainly opposes the stricter immigration rules that President Trump wants to introduce. The state has not provided motivation when requesting data from the account, including data that leads to the state knowing who is behind the account, the New York Times newspaper claims.

Twitter therefore believes that freedom of expression is at stake by requesting the data. According to the social network, releasing the data would have a major effect on the many users who criticize the US president’s policies.

The case stands out because Trump himself is a well-known user of Twitter and often uses the social network to criticize people, organizations and countries. The president has so far said nothing about this matter.