Security News > 2020 > April > Twitter Fails to Obtain Permission to Disclose Surveillance Requests
Twitter will not be allowed to disclose more information on national security requests after the U.S. government convinced a judge that the disclosure of such information could harm national security.
In 2014, companies were given permission to disclose some information on the national security requests they receive, including FISA court orders and national security letters.
Later in 2014, after negotiations failed, Twitter filed a lawsuit against the United States Justice Department in hopes of obtaining permission to disclose more detailed information on surveillance requests.
"For the disclosure of national security requests to be meaningful to our users, it must be within a range that provides sufficient precision to be meaningful. Allowing Twitter, or any other similarly situated company, to only disclose national security requests within an overly broad range seriously undermines the objective of transparency," Twitter said in a blog post published in 2014, before filing its lawsuit.
In documents submitted as part of the lawsuit, Twitter argued, "The Government argues that the limitations imposed on Twitter are necessary because disclosure of data concerning the number and type of national security legal process that it received in a time period would impair national security interests and is properly classified. However, the Government has not presented evidence, beyond a generalized explanation, to demonstrate that disclosure of the information in the Draft Transparency Report would present such a grave and serious threat of damage to national security as to meet the applicable strict scrutiny standard."