AT&T Technology Sponsorlogo

Law Enforcement Rarely Uses Search Warrants in Getting Twitter Data

United States law-enforcement agencies by and large do not establish probable cause or obtain a search warrant from an impartial judge before they seek information about a Twitter user.

Screenshot via Twitter.Screenshot via Twitter.

United States law-enforcement agencies by and large do not establish probable cause or obtain a search warrant from an impartial judge before they seek information about a Twitter user, the company said Monday in its second transparency report.

The company said it received a little over 1,000 requests for information between July and December 2012. Most came from the United States, and in nearly seven out of 10 instances, the company complied with the data request.

The numbers are a signal of how attractive Twitter data can be for law-enforcement agencies worldwide, as millions of users use the microblogging platform to rant against politicians, announce protest marches and share homemade videos.

Read the full New York Times story.

About the Author