A U.S. judge ordered Twitter on Monday to release data about a user arrested at an Occupy Wall Street protest, partially on the grounds that Twitter users who tweet publicly have “no reasonable expectation of privacy.”
“If you post a tweet, just like if you scream it out the window, there is no reasonable expectation of privacy,” wrote Judge Matthew Sciarrino in his decision.
“There is no proprietary interest in your tweets, which you have now gifted to the world,” he added. “This is not the same as a private email, a private direct message, a private chat, or any of the other readily available ways to have a private conversation via the Internet that now exist.”
A “reasonable expectation of privacy” is one test in U.S. law used to determine if an individual is protected from unreasonable search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment.
Malcolm Harris, the 23-year-old Twitter user in question, was arrested late last year during an Occupy Wall Street protest on the Brooklyn Bridge. The Manhattan District Attorney’s office subpoenaed Twitter for Harris’ tweets and other data soon afterwards, sparking a debate over the ownership of tweets.
The case has focused on whether Harris or Twitter itself owns Harris’ tweets, whether Harris had a reasonable expectation of privacy when tweeting and whether Twitter handing over Harris’ data represented a “physical intrusion” into Harris’ personal property.
Sciarrino previously wrote that Twitter, not Twitter users, owned tweets once posted. If that is held true, the District Attorney’s request for Harris’ data likely wouldn’t violate the Fourth Amendment.
Twitter stepped in to reject those claims, instead arguing that its users, not the company, owned individual tweets. Twitter also said a previously enacted law made Twitter users responsible for protesting requests for their data, adding that it would be problematic if the company was expected to appeal every request on its own. Additionally, the company argued that the data request represented an intrusion into Harris’ privacy.
Sciarrino’s final decision, in which he acknowledged that “judges are asked to make decisions based on statutes that can never keep up with technology,” rejected Twitter’s arguments, instead classifying Twitter as a “third party” and a “service provider” which overhears public tweets which therefore gives public posters no expectation of privacy. He also stated that the data request made no “physical intrusion” into Harris’ privacy. Thus, wrote Sciarrino, the Fourth Amendment does not protect Harris’ data.
Sciarrino added that asking Twitter to search for and deliver the relevant data was not “unreasonably burdensome” to the company and therefore it must comply with the subpoena.
However, he made something of a compromise by asking Twitter to deliver the relevant material to the court, which will then decide which information will be sent to the District Attorney’s office. Sciarrino also ruled that the District Attorney would need a warrant to request any of Harris’ data less than 180 days old.
SEE ALSO: Twitter Stands Up to Court Order for Occupier’s Data | Twitter: We Comply with 63% of Government Requests“We are disappointed in the judge’s decision and are considering our options,” said a Twitter spokesperson. “Twitter’s Terms of Service have long made it absolutely clear that its users own their content. We continue to have a steadfast commitment to our users and their rights.”
A spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney’s office welcomed the decision.
“We are pleased that the court has ruled for a second time that the Tweets at issue must be turned over,” said the spokesperson. “We look forward to Twitter’s complying and to moving forward with the trial.”
Harris’ full trial regarding his involvement in the Brooklyn Bridge protest is scheduled for December.
Read Judge Sciarrino’s decision here. Should people who post public tweets expect those tweets to remain private? Share your opinion in the comments below.
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, SimmiSimons
Posted on November 11, 2011 by The New York Times in Social Media 
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