Apparently the US government did not believe that Twitter would resist the abusive demand to reveal the person behind the anti-Trump account , as once the company filed a lawsuit, the officers withdrew their request.
Last week, it was revealed that Twitter had filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security for requesting classified information about an account critical of the Trump administration. Twitter claimed that the government's request violated the First Amendment and could chill citizen-government relations.
The government's reason for this request? A joke. The tax statute relating to the importation of goods into the United States is the . As expected, Twitter deemed the reasons insufficient to reveal a user's identity as the government demanded IP records, phone number, mailing address and any other information that could help them identify the person behind it.
Rumors claim that the person behind the @ALT_uscis account is a government employee who disagrees with Trump's views and administration on vital issues.
Shortly after Twitter 's complaint, the American Civil Liberties Union announced that it would represent the person behind the controversial account.
The US Customs and Border Protection agency that filed the application decided to cancel it, and Twitter in turn voluntarily withdrew the lawsuit.
User @ALT_uscis thanked Twitter in a post on the platform for highlighting the right to free anonymous speech.
