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Privacy

by Mike Masnick

Tue, May 15th 2012 8:42pm




Filed Under:
medal, petition, subpoena, thank you

Companies:
twitter


Thank Twitter For Standing Up For User Rights

from the they-earned-it dept

We recently wrote about Twitter's decision to stand up for a user in court, fighting against a court ruling that said that a user has no proprietary interest in their own tweets and info, such that those users cannot contest a government attempt to subpoena information from Twitter. This is not the first time that Twitter has aggressively stood up for its users' rights against government excess -- in a world where that's quite rare. When the government comes calling, most companies roll right over. In response to this, the folks over at Fight for the Future have put together a petition page, asking people to sign up to thank Twitter. If they get 50,000 people to sign, they'll present Twitter with a medal for defending the internet (these medals are awesome).

Given that internet petitions are often done in protest of something or against something, I really like this idea of effectively getting people to sign on for something positive and celebrate a company that does its best to protect the interests of its users. If you agree, head on over and sign up to thank Twitter.

38 Comments | Leave a Comment

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  •  
    identicon
    Jem, May 15th, 2012 @ 9:24pm

    A great idea, but ...

    You can't sign this without a US zip code, which is very un-Internet.

     

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  •  
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    sahdblunders (profile), May 15th, 2012 @ 10:22pm

    I did it...

    Anyone that will stand up about invasion of privacy I applaud. I have a 3 year old son and would like to think by me signing it I am helping his future.....I let twitter know I am glad they are on our side :)

     

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  •  
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    mrdarkrai (profile), May 16th, 2012 @ 12:21am

    I didn't use a zip code :/

    It auto filled (chrome) part of my street address, it took.

     

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    identicon
    OO, May 16th, 2012 @ 1:20am

    So why do they need all this info?

    I didn't check to see if a valid US Zipcode was required (which I don't have anyway), simply because when I saw the personal data they were asking me to hand over to them to just 'thank Twitter'. Screw that.

     

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    Benjamin, May 16th, 2012 @ 2:36am

    Not for me (censorship in France)

    Sorry, but that's not for me: Twitter seems to be a dual-headed centralized-service monster as any other one (google, facebook & al.)

    in France, we had many twitter account, not all of them were parodic one, (they were politely critical of the government behavior) that where destroyed without breaking any rules and, of course, without any explanation or possibility to get them back.

    so, that other story is nice, yes, but only enough for me to applaud with one hand, which makes not much noise ;)

     

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    •  
      identicon
      Michael, May 16th, 2012 @ 5:54am

      Re: Not for me (censorship in France)

      That's very sad.

      Actually, what's perhaps more sad is the fact that we're now reduced to handing out awards to private companies simply for standing up and protecting our right to privacy from the government whose job it is, supposedly, to UPHOLD AND PROTECT OUR RIGHTS.

       

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      •  
        identicon
        Anonymous Coward, May 16th, 2012 @ 9:14pm

        Re: Re: Not for me (censorship in France)

        This.

        I put a lot more faith in the ACLU and EFF and their ilk than I do in either large companies or government these days. I simply don't trust any group of people making lots of money who can hide behind a faceless bureaucratic mask. It breeds disregard for other human beings.

         

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  •  
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    Alasdair Fox (profile), May 16th, 2012 @ 2:45am

    Fight for the Future:
    Tip for the future.. Twitter is not US only, the rest of the world uses it too, and may wish to thank twitter as well.
    Otherwise, good idea.

     

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    •  
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      Joshua Blount (profile), May 16th, 2012 @ 6:09am

      Re:

      Thanks for the tip :)

      This was an oversight on my part (I'm the developer over at FFTF). The form is updated now to happily take non-US zip codes as well as no zip code at all.

      Sorry about that!

       

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  •  
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    ColinCowpat (profile), May 16th, 2012 @ 3:23am

    Fail

    I'd like to thank Twitter but can't as my UK postcode isn't a recognised ZIP code on that vote site. There are actually appreciative users beyond the US coastline you know...

     

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  •  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, May 16th, 2012 @ 3:50am

    they didnt stand up for the user, twits on rules say they own your tweets, so the man has no standing to protect them, they need to prove to the court that Twitter has to provide the info, twit is protecting itself, not the user

    let me guess? privacy?? since when is something said to the public in a public format, that you have rights not to have those used against you??

    your on the wrong soapbox again

     

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    •  
      identicon
      Anonymous Coward, May 16th, 2012 @ 9:20pm

      Re:

      I think you missed a point in there. The government is also asking for identifying information that is not publicly available, and it's saying the user has no right to file a motion in court to quash the subpoena. Normally, you and I do have that right. (Whether we'd win or not is another point entirely.) However, lately the government has taken to serving companies quietly and ignoring users, trying to get the companies to violate their own terms of service and just hand over the data without alerting users at all. Not okay.

       

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    Anonymous Coward, May 16th, 2012 @ 4:00am

    Thanks for requiring US zipcodes, enjoy my non-signature. ;/

     

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    Uth (profile), May 16th, 2012 @ 4:36am

    5 numbers for "normal" country is the zip code :)

     

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    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, May 16th, 2012 @ 5:06am

    You must me mad if you think twitter is helping to protect your privacy, absolutly mad. they dont accept uk postcodes
    because we already know they'll sell you out in a second.

     

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  •  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, May 16th, 2012 @ 5:12am

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-17515992

    this guy says thanks to twitter.

    thanks twitter you rock.

     

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  •  
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    Greg G (profile), May 16th, 2012 @ 5:32am

    To everyone saying you can't do it because you don't have a US post/zip code: Just enter any 5 digits!

    The only *real* bit of info you need to enter is your email address as it does make you confirm it via an email that is sent to you.

     

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  •  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, May 16th, 2012 @ 7:29am

    How pathetically naive and stupid

    Really? A medal?

    The only reason Twitter did this is that it's good for Twitter. That's it. The fact that it accidentally works out in favor of users is just that: an accident.

    And yet you clowns want to give them a medal for it?

    Please. Go home. You're far too naive and stupid to be playing this game.

     

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    •  
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      Bas Grasmayer (profile), May 16th, 2012 @ 7:45am

      Re: How pathetically naive and stupid

      This game can be played from home too. The internet can be accessed from almost everywhere. Pro tip.

       

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    •  
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      drew (profile), May 16th, 2012 @ 9:13am

      Re: How pathetically naive and stupid

      Alternatively you could reward the behaviours you like to see and maybe companies will start to adopt those behaviours. Bit like training animals really...

       

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  •  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, May 16th, 2012 @ 1:03pm

    they aren't animals they are inteligent humans and they know how to behave believe me.

     

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    Jeremy (profile), May 16th, 2012 @ 2:40pm

    Broken link?

    The link to the thank you page for me looks like:

    http://a.fightforthefuture.org/sign/thank_you_twitter

    But when I click on it I'm getting host not found?

    -Jeremy

     

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  •  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, May 17th, 2012 @ 6:23am

    PR damage-control spin

     

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  •  
    identicon
    Richard, May 18th, 2012 @ 8:10pm

    For greater effectiveness, it might be useful to have a means where persons can send personalized messages of thanks, as such messages may carry more weight than merely providing a name and location information.

     

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  •  
    identicon
    Nitesh Kumar, May 25th, 2012 @ 4:46am

    Then why they blocked @opindia_revenge

    https://twitter.com/#!/opindia_revenge

     

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