BELOW SUPERNAV drop zone ⇩

Governments ramp up demands for user info, Twitter warns

FILE – The Twitter application is seen on a digital device, April 25, 2022, in San Diego. Twitter warned Thursday, July 28, that governments around the globe are asking the company to remove content or snoop on private details of user accounts at an alarming rate. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

ovp test

mLife Diagnostics LLC: Oral Fluid Drug Testing

Male shot by female at Shreveport apartment

Class to create biodiverse backyard

Rules for outbursts at Caddo School Board Meeting

maylen

https://digital-stage.newsnationnow.com/

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241114185800

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241115200405

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118165728

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118184948

WASHINGTON (AP) — Twitter warned Thursday that governments around the globe are asking the company to remove content or snoop on private details of user accounts at an alarming rate.

The social media company revealed in a new report that it fielded a record number of legal demands — nearly 60,000 during a six-month period last year — from local, state or national governments who wanted Twitter to remove content from accounts or reveal confidential information such as direct messages or user locations.

“We’re seeing governments become more aggressive in how they try to use legal tactics to unmask the people using our service, collect information about account owners and also using legal demands as a way to try and silence people,” Yoel Roth, the head of Twitter’s safety and integrity, said in a conversation broadcasted on the site Thursday.

The U.S. makes up the majority of demands for account information, accounting for 20% of the requests. India follows closely behind. Twitter says it complied fully with roughly 40% of all asks for information on user accounts.

Japan, which is also a frequent requestor for account information, makes the most requests of Twitter to take down content from accounts. Japan made more than 23,000 requests — half of all requests — for content to be removed. Russia followed closely behind on its takedown asks.

Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, also reported an increase in government asks for private user data during the same timeframe.

Twitter also reported a huge spike in requests from governments that targeted verified journalists and news outlets during the last half of 2021.

Governments also made a record number of legal demands on 349 accounts of verified journalists or news outlets around the globe between July and December of last year — a 103% increase.

Twitter did not provide a breakdown of which countries made those requests on journalists’ accounts or how many of the asks they complied with.

“Governments are using the social media companies to silence critics and censor journalists,” Rob Mahoney, the executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, said in an emailed statement to The Associated Press.

“This surge in government demands for content takedowns and information on journalists is part of a global trend of increasing censorship and manipulation of information,” Mahoney said. “Social media platforms are vital for reporters and they must do more to resist government attempts to silence critical voices.”

© 2022 Associated Press All rights reserve.

Tech

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

Site Settings Survey

 

MAIN AREA MIDDLE drop zone ⇩

Trending on NewsNation

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241119133138

MAIN AREA BOTTOM drop zone ⇩

tt

KC Chiefs parade shooting: 1 dead, 21 shot including 9 kids | Morning in America

Witness of Chiefs parade shooting describes suspect | Banfield

Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting: Mom of 2 dead, over 20 shot | Banfield

WWE star Ashley Massaro 'threatened' by board to keep quiet about alleged rape: Friend | Banfield

Friend of WWE star: Ashley Massaro 'spent hours' sobbing after alleged rape | Banfield

Clear

la

49°F Clear Feels like 49°
Wind
1 mph NW
Humidity
50%
Sunrise
Sunset

Tonight

Clear to partly cloudy. Low 46F. Winds light and variable.
46°F Clear to partly cloudy. Low 46F. Winds light and variable.
Wind
1 mph N
Precip
8%
Sunset
Moon Phase
Waning Gibbous