Twitter takes a free speech stand against US government

[Commentary] In the ongoing push-pull between the First Amendment and national security, Twitter is taking an important stand against government overreach.

In 2014, thanks to pressure brought by tech companies such as Google, LinkedIn and Facebook, the government relaxed the gag rules associated with national security-related warrants and subpoenas. But it still dictated exactly how much the companies could disclose about these requests. Twitter, which has probably been the most aggressive of the major tech companies in pushing against these limits, argues in a suit it filed in federal court in San Francisco that it should be able to publish more detailed information about the requests, citing its First Amendment right to free speech. This fight may seem a small matter, but the principle is how to strike the balance between the free-flow of information in a democracy versus the need to keep some secrets from our enemies. If the Internet services can't talk about the scope and depth of government's surveillance of online communications, our trust in them and the government will continue to weaken.