Twitter fined $350K for delayed response to Trump's account search warrant

SAN FRANCISCO:

Elon Musk's Twitter faced a $350,000 fine earlier this year for refusing to comply with a search warrant concerning former US President Donald Trump's account on the micro-blogging platform.

The information was revealed by the new court documents unsealed on Wednesday, reports The Verge.

The warrant was issued as part of a Department of Justice special investigation.

In January, as part of his inquiry into Trump's role in interfering with the orderly transition of power following the 2020 election, special counsel Jack Smith obtained a search warrant for the former President's Twitter account, @realDonaldTrump.

According to the unsealed opinion, Twitter, now known as X, objected on February 1 to providing the material requested in the warrant, claiming that its accompanying nondisclosure order was unlawful under the First Amendment, which guarantees freedoms concerning religion, expression, assembly, and the right to petition.

The objection came four days after the court-mandated deadline and asked the district court to determine if the nondisclosure was legal before handing over the warrant’s requested material.

On February 2, X moved to vacate the nondisclosure order, claiming that it “violated the company’s First Amendment rights to communicate with its subscriber, former President Trump”.

During a hearing on February 7, the court determined that X was in contempt.

However, the company was given the opportunity to purge the finding by supplying the requested materials that day before 5 p.m..

According to unsealed documents, X failed to meet the deadline.

The company did send some records, but that submission was considered incomplete.

It wasn't until February 9 that X finally provided all the requested records to the government.

As a consequence of missing the deadline, the company received a fine of $350,000.

In January 2021, the company had announced the permanent suspension of Trump’s account on the platform.

However, after purchasing the platform last year, Musk in November reinstated Trump’s account.


WORLD    SCOTLAND    Glasgow    SPORTS    Boxing / Kick Boxing   
NORTH EAST    ASSAM    GUWAHATI    TRIPURA    WEST TRIPURA    AGARTALA   

Five NE states record below-normal monsoon rainfall in June-July despite widespread floods

Even as several Northeastern states were battered by heavy rains, floods and landslides during July, five of the region's eight states recorded below-normal monsoon rainfall so far due to weak rain-bearing systems over the Bay of Bengal, the absence of active monsoon troughs and the influence of El Nino, India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials said on Saturday. 

TRIPURA    WEST TRIPURA    AGARTALA   
TRIPURA    WEST TRIPURA    AGARTALA   
TRIPURA    WEST TRIPURA    AGARTALA   
TRIPURA    WEST TRIPURA    AGARTALA   
WORLD    SCOTLAND    Glasgow    INDIA    GUJARAT    Ahmedabad   
TRIPURA    WEST TRIPURA    AGARTALA   

AGMC to be top medical, research centre in NE: Tripura CM

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Saturday said the state government is working relentlessly to transform the Agartala Government Medical College (AGMC) and Govind Ballabh Pant Hospital into one of the best medical education, research and super-speciality healthcare institutions in Northeast India, while strengthening the state’s overall healthcare ecosystem.