The US government got access to the Twitter accounts of WikiLeaks and some of its supporters, following a new ruling by a federal judge.
The Department of Justice had subpoenaed Twitter and the social media site was asked to provide information related to Wikileaks’ three of the strongest supporters, which include Birgitta Jonsdottir, Rop Gongrijp and Jacob Appelbaum, Mashable.com reported.
The government will be able access to limited content such as e-mail and IP addresses, whereas it’s unclear whether the request includes private messages sent by the Wikileaks supporters.
In a 20-page opinion, the arguments of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and attorneys representing the WikiLeaks backers were rejected by Judge Theresa Buchanan.
By turning over Twitter account information to the government, the judge declared that first and fourth amendment rights would not be violated.
However, the judge did not reveal document’s sensitive information, including the identity of targets and witnesses in an ongoing criminal investigation.
Last month, Twitter filed a motion requesting permission not to turn over data related to WikiLeaks’s official account.
Appeal against the ruling is intended by ACLU.
