All your tweets are belong to us – or rather, the USA government
January 9, 2011 74
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Most everyone has heard about the Wikileaks, erm, leak drama regarding United States diplomatic cables. Since the leak, the US government has started an investigation to try to bring Wikileaks “to justice”. I put “to justice” in quotes not because I am taking the side of Wikileaks (I am neither pro or anti Wikileaks), but rather because not everyone agrees on this matter. Anyway, apparently as part of this investigation, the US Attorney’s office has convinced a District Court judge data held by Twitter is “relevant and material to [the] ongoing criminal investigation”; Twitter has been subpoenaed to hand over data related to various different Twitter accounts but the two big names in the list are Julian Assange, the founder/CEO/whatever of Wikileaks, and Birgitta Jonsdottir, an Icelandic MP.
Originally the subpoena came with a gag order, but Twitter fought back and the gag order was lifted; Twitter is now legally allowed to let the public – and the respective account holders – know about the US Attorney’s Office’s demand to hand over data.
According to the BBC, the data demanded from Twitter by the US Attorney’s office includes “mailing addresses and billing information, connection records and session times, IP addresses used to access Twitter, email accounts, as well as the ‘means and source of payment’”.
While I am not pro/anti Wikileaks, USA government, or Iranian government, the following response by Julian Assange (to this Twitter subpoena) really struck home with me:
If the Iranian government was to attempt to coercively obtain this information from journalists and activists of foreign nations, human rights groups around the world would speak out.
As I said, I am not pro/anti any of the parties involved; however, I can’t help but agree with Assange. There definitely are double-standards when it comes to politics, especially on a global scale.
Furthermore, personally speaking, while I understand why the US Attorney’s Office is looking into all things Assange (they really want to take this guy down, badly), I feel the investigation into an foreign dignitary (i.e. Birgitta Jonsdottir) may turn out to be a big mistake. Of course, Iceland may just brush off the investigation and not pursue any diplomatic repercussions, but they may also react strongly to one of their MPs being investigated by the USA government. I am sure the United States government would react if an American congressperson was being invested abroad.
It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. Feel free to discuss in the comments below (consider this an open politics discussion thread), but keep it civil.
[via BBC News]
I was always under the assumption that Assange was big user of Tor, so their IP tracking would be useless, unless the rumors about a backdoor in Tor is true. Same goes for his use of encryption.
I am curious about how this gonna play out.
I may or may not like what people have to say, but I will always defend their right to say it.
I am not Anti-US at all, but this reeks of a double standard. They accuse China and Russia of various anti free speech behaviour Yet I see this whole Wiki leaks as nothing different.
So at the very least, Wikileaks has informed the public about how hypocritical the USA government really is. I am disgusted at this whole affair.
Ditto Leslie. The whole affair is both shabby and disgusting. We have lost what little freedom we had
and it will only get worse. Many have said when speaking of speed radars and red light cameras, “If
you are doing nothing illegal, you have nothing to worry about”. The same is true for governments.
The US should be cleaning up it’s act instead pursuing Assange – it’s shameful.
What really stinks about this kind of thing is the way it’s done by stealth.
Whether or not an investigation into Assange / Wikileaks is merited, and whether or not such an investigation should extend to the personal accounts of Twitter users, is actually less of an issue as the fact that the powers-that-be sought to keep their activities secret. (On the age-old basis that the powers-that-be can only exist if Society allows ‘em-to-be.)
Here in the UK, similar things have gone on, where very rich individuals and powerful corporations have not only issued writs, but have attached to those writs “gagging orders” to prevent anyone other than the parties concerned from even knowing that the writs exist.
Assange says he wishes to defend open and accountable Democracy.
I’m not sure that the way he’s gone about it is entirely correct.
But the actions of those now hunting him certainly demonstrate that when Democracy ceases to be open and accountable — as here with the Twitter gagging order — then the biggest threat to our way of life isn’t individuals like Assange but powerful agencies of State attempting to operate by stealth: in this case, the US Attorney’s Office.
Number 1 the soldier peon that released a great portion of this stuff should be raked across the coals. And should never had access to that much information.
Number 2 not being sure how the rest of the info was obtained. I can only say if the state department did not encrypt their communications well enough to keep it from happening then I think they should just try to cover their butts as much as they can, fix the problem, take the pie in the face, and shut up about the rest.
I only know I would hate to be in their IT department right now. If anyone is left.
American jackboots will never cease trampling the rights of their own citizens or the rights of others. The double standard Amerika applies to other nations makes it a laughingstock around the world. Thankfully, and not soon enough, American hegemony will go the way of the dodo courtesy of their huge budget deficits. How many other nations over the ages, from Roman to British and every nation in between, has been toppled from within by the expense of attempting to maintain foreign armies? All of them.
Not soon enough.
I think it’s about time the term ‘democratic’ was redefined.
We have long been oppressed into keeping our heads down and our mouths shut or face the consequences of the power and stealth of the people we elect to run our countries and be in charge of our lives. Whilst I appreciate Assange was doing what he thought was right, it was always going to be to his own detriment. I could have set my clock by the alleged ‘sex offences’ debacle.
Good on Twitter for managing to lift the gagging order. That’s the only sensible thing that’s happened so far.
I think the people have a right to know what their government is/has been doing.
So it is OK for one man, with clear personality disorders, to steal communications that belong to someone else and publish them, putting many people in harm’s way. But it is not OK for the ones who are being robbed to use the official justice system, in which so many persons will judge along the way if the legal steps are being followed, to get all his information out in the open. If he really believes all information should be there for everyone to see, why not his info?
If you don’t agree with your government there is a system to address that: voting or go in politics yourself. That is called democracy.
Leaving it up to one or 2 people to judge that something you write does not belong to the writer, as before was worldwide accepted, instead of having it pass the scrutiny of a democratic political and judicial system, is tyranny.
It is so easy to have yourself being lead by glee and anti-Americanism, but please think of what would happen to all of our freerdom and rights if you would apply the wikileaks standard to all what happens ever, worldwide.
BTW the continued claim that no-one has been put in danger because of it is a plain lie. The man who escaped rom Iran sees now his family being in danger, which is only one of many examples. The lives of diplomats and their families in some countries are in danger, the damge done to diplomacy (you know that process where you try to solve problems by talking iso going to war, or the interference that is needed to help you when you got your sorry ass in trouble in a foreign country) is unfathomable.
Please think further than just the gaiety of having some Americans being embarrased and think of what will happen to democracy and your own lives if you accept this standard as due process.
I think all the above comments have some relevancy regarding this issue but one does stand out above the rest.
The observation that none of this stuff was encrypted is surly a very important point.
What on earth were they(the USA) thinking allowing this information to be accessible so readily.
I find it interesting how governments ,just as people do, react so aggressively after the horse has bolted.
Perhaps making sure the door is locked will help prevent these problems happening again.
But somehow I do not think so!
Do you?
As an aside, did you know that to get into the USA we have to give them all our fingerprints now.
it was just 2 fingers last year.
will the next step be to strip naked and have all my body scanned just to make sure I haven,t got round the fingerprints.
I wonder if all the information they have on me is encrypted.
Probably not.
@a simple happy man: Sadly the current Govt. in place would like to burn the Constitution and everything it stands for in American society and introduce a police state system like Communist Russia or Nazi Germany and control all of the media. This is why the president has gone outside of the normal process and signed into law the whole net neutrality law, food safety law, Obamacare etc.. I believe that what is coming out of Wikileaks is basically what the Govt. wanted to get out so that they could force into play the need for censorship of the internet since they don’t have full control over it like the do with all the regular media services i.e. NBC,CBS,ABC,FOX which have all been bought off and are mostly just propaganda. If you want real info you need to go to places like RT or PressTV
Everybody has little dirty secrets and does not want them to be published throughout the world. This applies to all governments too. They have a lot to lose. Many citizens still believe the government is for the people and the politicians want them tho continue to think like that. It really does not matter if one is against Assange or does not like the way the US is dealing with the issue. Just open your eyes and you will get a lifetime education in very short time about freedom, government and truth. I do not know why A. is doing this and I don’t believe in a noble cause. But he takes of the mask off a government and shows the reality. By now everybody should understand that you cannot trust government and its representatives. It’s as simple as that. They lie, they have people killed for “freedom”, they create rules and laws and anticipate us to follow. For them of course these rules only apply if they are beneficial for them. You think you have freedom of speech ? Look at this article and see how somebody is covering his back. Freedom and democracy, some of the most abused words in this world. Not only in the US.
The subpoena for Twitter records is just like anything else in the legal process: a party may subpoena the information or have a judge issue a subpoena, for cause. The fact that the records are electronic rather than paper makes no difference. What may make a difference, though, is people coming to realize that this information may be obtained, when little or no thought typically is given to that possibility.
This is a subject that is far T00 intense, too high a level, and too complex an issue for a simple thinker like me! and quite frankly i am very surprised to see it being brought up and discussed on dotTech
There is only one thing i can do with something like this and that is to hand it over to God to deal with and let it go, knowing and trusting in God to bring about the best possible result for all conceened, whatever that may be.
I am not preaching or pushing God on anyone here, it is just that there are somethings that are way beyond my capabilities as a human being and this is one of them.
As far as i am concerned that puts it in the Almighty’s territory and i have to have enough faith that God will deal with it in the best way possible and then i get on with what i can actually personally deal with on a simple day to day basis
Our rights in the USA are being taken away by a thousand cuts. Each time it is so small that no one seems to notice, but collectively much liberty has been taken from us in the past 10 years. Now you are either molested or irradiated before flying commercially, and Homeland Security encourages us to spy on our neighbors and report any “suspicious activity” to the authorities – there are video screens promoting it at Wal-Mart, and even an iPhone app for it. It all sounds like Hitler Youth to me.
This is another example of a government out of control. When they use video cameras to record traffic stops or red light runners, they claim that we have no reasonable right to privacy. But if you video a policeman making an arrest you might be arrested for obstruction of justice or some such nonsense. Google up Alex Jones for more info on the leaks and much more.
@Leslie: I’m no cheerleader for the US Government, but this is not anti-free speech. Somehow wiki leaks acquired access to classified documents, and published them. If they had acquired access to your email account and published it, would that be free speech? It doesn’t help to confuse the issue.
nene, well said, I think you summed up the situation just fine, freedom of speech is something we should all cherish, but that has to be tempered with, responsible actions regarding that free speech, at first I was impressed with the Wikileaks revelations, but now question his motives, not sure they are all so moralistic as he claims they are.
“All your tweets are belong to us – or rather, the USA government”
Woot Grammar Check!!
~i am not sure about the “are” i think you should slice that sucker off!
the best place in the world: DotTech!!
thanks Ashraf..
Remember every thinks you write here, is read through the US NSA’ computers. So just write what can not put you in trouble.
@prema:
It’s an hommage to an old video game with an infamous line, attributable to bad translation. Your youth shows. Google “All your base are belong to us”.
A couple things “a simple happy man” said are spot on:
“This is a subject that is far T00 intense, too high a level, and too complex an issue…! and quite frankly i am very surprised to see it being brought up and discussed on dotTech”
Reading all the anti-American and anti-government comments above that only remotely address the issue only shows that people are angry and are going to spew garbage before they bother to really think about the situation, or try to think of what they personally would do if someone leaked all their personal information all over the internet like “michel” said.
Ashraf, you score a big “fail” on this one.
Jerry H- You are obviously watching too much Govt T.V. and that’s fine for you and your little world.
michel- Only what the Govt. allows out gets out. Wikileaks is a pawn of the CIA.
Open your eyes while you are out driving around. Go outside and look at all the chemtrails filled with aluminum and barium. And when you are ready for the truth your eyes will be opened and hopefully not too late! Like Emrys said do a google of A.J. or check out infowars.com. It’s all out there in print if you are willing to remove your blinders and really see how corrupt the Govt really is.
Thanks Ashraf for posting this. Hopefully some will realize that the Govt. is really spying on it’s citizens for using there Free Speech granted by the Constitution.
@socal70xr7:
Thank you for proving me right a second time.
Typo in your beautiful poster: I want you tweets. Should be “your”.
I read that the way they would track the Wikileaks tweets would be by IP of who got them… but there’s a problem with that. One of the people I follow retweeted some of Wikileaks’ tweets. What about me? And the other couple thousand of people that follow him?!