Here’s how Twitter might challenge the NSA’s gag order

Author: 
Coverage Type: 

A Q&A with Eugene Volokh, a First Amendment scholar at the University of California-Los Angeles.

The United States government limits how much companies can disclose about their cooperation with surveillance by the National Security Agency and other federal agencies. Government officials have insisted that Internet companies such as Google and Microsoft report the number of surveillance requests only in broad numeric ranges. Twitter recently wrote that it was unsatisfied with this arrangement, and was "considering legal options we may have to seek to defend our First Amendment rights." The company argues that it has a right to disclose specific details about the extent of its participation in U.S. surveillance programs. Would such a legal challenge succeed?


Here’s how Twitter might challenge the NSA’s gag order