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2012

Twitter In Trouble: Sued By Brazilian Govt Over Speed Trap, Roadblock Tweets

February 9, 2012 0

Brazil — In what may be the first acid-test of Twitter’s recently introduced censorship strategy, which the micro-blogging outfit might have to decide quickly whether to enforce its new policy of removing tweets on a country-by-country basis. Meanwhile, the Brazilian government has filed a lawsuit against Twitter, demanding that the firm remove accounts in the country that warn citizens of police speed traps and roadblocks.

Today, the attorney general of Brazil filed a preliminary injunction in a federal court in Goias, to block tweets and suspend the accounts of Twitter users who use the social-networking outfit to inform people about radar locations, speed traps, and DUI checkpoints in the Brazilian state of Goias, according to the news group O Globo.

Furthermore, these accounts, according to the Attorney General of the Union (AGU), directly harm the life, safety, and property of people in general, according to a translated statement on the AGU Web site.

Considering the severity of the situation, the Brazilian government is imposing fines of $290,000 until Twitter modifies its course. The government charges that such tweets break the law and directly endanger “life, safety and property,” CNN reports. The roadblocks, the suit contends, may thwart purveyors of other crimes like car theft, weapons smuggling and drug trafficking. A judge is currently reviewing the case.

As noted by The Next Web, the AGU filed a petition for preliminary injunction to block accounts like @LeiSecaRJ and @RadarBlitzGO that disclose the location of “police blitzes.”

In a tweet posted yesterday, @RadarBlitzGO said it would put-off all updates until the case is resolved. The @LeiSecaRJ account has been re-tweeting messages from followers who say they use it for traffic updates.

Moreover, Brazil’s challenge comes less than two weeks after Twitter announced that it was authorizing itself the right to withhold content in certain countries, while making the content available in the rest of the world. Previously, Twitter’s only recourse for censoring such tweets was to remove the content globally.

“We have not yet enforced this facility, but if and when we are required to withhold a tweet in a specific country, we will attempt to let the user know, and we will clearly mark when the content has been withheld,” read a post on Twitter’s blog on Jan. 26. Twitter expanded its relationship with Chilling Effects, an organization that collects and analyzes legal complaints about online activity, to update users about which posts were being censored. No posts relating to the Brazil case were found on Tuesday.

These raids, the AGU said, it not only targets drunk drivers, but vehicle theft, illegal possession of weapons, and drug trafficking. The statement goes on to cite statistics about how roadblocks have reduced traffic accidents, but does not say to what extent, if at all, the Twitter accounts have helped people avoid them.

News of the lawsuit stormed on Twitter, with some approving the government’s move and others criticizing it, noting that driver tweets also helped others avoid accidents and traffic bottlenecks, CBN radio reported.

A Twitter spokeswoman said the company has nothing to share at this time.