You’re reading the Benton Foundation’s Weekly Round-up, a recap of the biggest (or most overlooked) telecommunications stories of the week. The round-up is delivered via e-mail each Friday; to get your own copy, subscribe at www.benton.org/user/register
Robbie's Round-Up for the Week of April 3-7 , 2017
The Trump Administration sought to unmask the identity of an anonymous Twitter account criticizing its policies, according to a lawsuit filed by the social media platform April 6. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), a division of homeland security, issued a summons to Twitter on March 14 seeking records including the phone number, mailing addresses, and IP addresses associated with @ALT_USCIS, an account that purports to convey the views of dissenters within the government.
The account @ALT_USCIS, whose handle refers to the US citizenship and immigration services, is one of dozens of “alternative” Twitter accounts established following the inauguration of Donald Trump. These alternative accounts claim to provide the uncensored view of civil servants dissenting from Trump’s policies, but they are generally anonymous and unverifiable. The government’s attempt to break that anonymity was revealed when Twitter filed suit in federal court seeking to block the summons, citing the first amendment.
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