The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals erred in refusing to unseal...
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals erred in refusing to unseal orders that the Department of Justice sent to Twitter and other companies during an investigation of three Twitter users in connection with the unauthorized publishing of classified documents…
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through WikiLeaks, the ACLU and Electronic Frontier Foundation -- which represented one the Twitter users in the case -- said in a joint statement late Friday. On Friday, the court denied an appeal to unseal the documents, saying the public’s right to access was outweighed by the government’s need for secrecy to preserve the integrity of its investigation (CD Jan 28 p16). The court’s “decision makes it easier for the government to keep its electronic surveillance activities hidden, even when there is no longer any need to keep them secret,” said ACLU attorney Aden Fine: “This case shows just how easy it is for the government to obtain information about what people are doing on the internet, and it highlights the need for our electronic privacy laws to catch up with technology."