Wednesday, May 19, 2010

#BigBrother Watch: Attorney General Tom Corbett Subpoenaes Twitter To ID his Anonymous Critics #PoliticalDouchery

Attorney General Tom Corbett Subpoenaes Twitter To Identify Anonymous Critics

by Robin Wauters on May 19, 2010

Tom Corbett, current Attorney General of the state of Pennsylvania and Gubernatorial Candidate, has subpoenaed Twitter to appear as a Grand Jury witness to “testify and give evidence regarding alleged violations of the laws of Pennsylvania”.

The subpoena orders Twitter to provide “any and all subscriber information” of the person(s) behind two accounts – @bfbarbie and @CasaBlancaPA – who have been anonymously criticizing the man on the popular micro-sharing service.

According to the subpoena (embedded below), the information that Twitter is ordered to provide includes “name, address, contact information, creation date, creation Internet Protocol address and any and all log in Internet Protocol address”.

I don't think the Constitution promises anonymity, but unless there's a crime committed I'm not sure how a subpoena can be legal here. And without a crime being involved this is nothing but Attorney General Tom Corbett abusing his powers as an attorney general--effectively breaking the law, himself.

Posted via web from thepete's posterous

No comments: