Twitter suing the government over order to reveal user behind anti-Trump account


In response to a summons sent to Twitter by the Department of Homeland Security that demanded the company disclose the identity of the user behind the anti-President Trump @ALT_USCIS account, Twitter filed a lawsuit against the agency, saying the request violates the user's free speech.
"Alternative" accounts started popping up right after Trump's inauguration, when the National Park Service re-tweeted an image that showed the much larger crowd at President Obama's first inauguration compared to Trump's. Trump was reportedly angry about the tweet, and the park service apologized. This led users who claimed to be either current or former federal employees to launch accounts like @ALT_USCIS and @alt_labor, which tweet their often critical opinions on Trump's policies and actions, with @ALT_USCIS often condemning Trump's stance on immigration.
On March 14, Twitter received a faxed summons from a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent, who used a customs statute for the examination of books and witnesses to demand the company reveal the identity of the person behind @ALT_USCIS, Bloomberg reports. The letter threatened Twitter with legal action if they did not comply. Twitter says users can remain anonymous unless they violate the law, and the government did not show any evidence that this user committed a crime that would warrant the release of their personal information.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
How did Qatar become the world's peacemaker?
Today's Big Question Strong relationships, ideological pragmatism and neutral positioning has made the tiny Gulf state 'the diplomatic capital of the world'
-
The Macrons v. Candace Owens: consequences for conspiracy theorists?
Talking Point French president and his wife are suing the right-wing influencer over bizarre claims Brigitte Macron was born a man
-
Sudoku medium: July 29, 2025
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliable
speed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutiny
Speed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress code
speed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement